Naruto Gaiden
by kyugan
Summary: Exposed to the Kyuubi from a young age, Naruto endeavors to control his demonic Kekkei Genkai, and prove to the world he is no demon. NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

Naruto Gaiden

Chapter one

'Sometimes life just sucks'

This was the thought of one Hatake Kakashi as he left the Sandaime's office. The copy-nin had just failed another hopeless Genin team. You'd think after failing over ten teams the old man would have gotten the message, Kakashi didn't want to teach. The cycloptic Jounin turned another page in his infamous orange book, marked it, and then put it away, too irritated to even enjoy the beauty that was 'Icha-Icha Paradise'.

Making his way through the streets of Konohagakure, he passed by the academy, deciding to stop by for old times sake. He smiled as he watched the students bicker in the area below, remembering how he and Obito would bicker constantly, or rather Obito would yell, cuss and gesture at him, and he reply with a sarcastic comment, which would cause the Uchiha to break into a swearing marathon.

Kakashi chuckled, then left the area, suddenly remembering to pay his last respects of the day at the memorial, so he walked there, nostalgia setting in.

En route to the memorial, he was paused as he heard the unmistakeable sounds of a child crying. Deciding to play the good Samaritan, he followed his ears to what appeared to be a blond haired youth that was rubbing his arms, what looked like bruises covering them.

"You okay there kid?" he asked, his eye half shut.

To his surprise the kid jumped up with a look of outright terror on his face and ran away as if Kyuubi himself was after him. As the Jounin tried to gather himself one thought struck out in his mind;

'That kid's face looked familiar…'

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Naruto ran, he ran till his legs were sore, till he couldn't run anymore, of course by this stage he'd cleared half of Konoha, and was already in another training area, which fortunately was empty.

That man…he was a shinobi…right Ni-san? 

** Not just any shinobi kit, his chakra levels tell me he was a jounin, that's the elite class on ninja in this village. **

Naruto shivered, 'I was right, he could have killed me without blinking', he sat next to a tree and curled up, closing his eyes.

Why won't they just leave me alone…why won't they listen? 

** I'm sorry kit. **The Kyuubi said sadly, **Had I not attacked, maybe you'd have lived a happy life…with your father. **

Naruto shook his head.

It's not your fault, and it's that weird man with the cloud jacket's fault he smiled; Besides…I never knew my papa…but at least I have you… 

Slowly, a red outline covered the boy, as nine astral tails wrapped around him in a warm embrace.

** And I you. **

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Kakashi had wrapped things up at the shrine, gotten something to eat, purchased the latest edition of Icha-Icha Paradise and soundly trounced Gai in a game of old maid, leaving the taijutsu specialist doing one-hundred, single handed, handstand push-ups.

'Wonder if that kid was alright, those bruises looked nasty…' her shook himself, 'what am I worried for? He probably ran home to Mama to kiss it better.'

Passing a happy family, returning from a trip to the supermarket he smirked, 'If Obito could hear me now…ye god's I'd never hear the end of it!'

Passing Kurenai and Asuma at a restaurant he decided to stop by for a chat, the red eyed kunoichi was concerned about the upcoming jounin exams, as she'd be competing for the first time against other hardened Chunin and wasn't particularly looking forward to it.

Asuma, on the other hand, was quite certain she'd be fine, and pointedly told her and Kakashi so.

Pulling out his recent purchase, Kakashi was about to read when he was interrupted by a loud yell.

"AH! Kakashi! My eternal rival!" Gai yelled, appearing from a cloud of smoke, "Let us continue with our youthful challenges to prove once and for all who is superior!"

"Hmm? You say something?" Kakashi replied, idly turning the page, causing the taijutsu specialist to break down in tears.

Asuma sighing as he patted the poor man on the back, "There-there, let it all out…", whilst Kurenai shot the book in Kakashi's hand a glare. Sensing the red-eyed kunoichi's bloodlust slowly rising, Kakashi decided to leave, marking his page for future reference.

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Entering his bachelor's apartment, the Jounin promptly got ready for bed, after replacing his older novel with his recent purchase in his weapons pouch.

That night, the citizens of Konohagakure fell asleep; each one with dreams of a better day comes the dawn.

The Hokage had nightmares concerning mountains of paperwork.

Kakashi dreamed of his days with team Arashi.

Guy dreamt of Taijutsu battles and flames of youth.

Asuma dreamt of…stuff.

Kurenai dreamt of burning the writer of the Icha-Icha series, whoever he or she was, on a bonfire of their own smutty work..

Ebisu had one of his closet-perv dreams that he'd promptly forget come dawn.

Sakura and Ino dreamed of getting married to Sasuke.

Choji dreamed of a mountain of his favourite foods.

Shikamaru dreamt of clouds.

Shino…lets just say he dreamed.

Kiba dreamt of fighting hundreds of enemies he could beat with one blow.

Hinata dreamt of her mother.

Sasuke dreamt about his brother's death at his hands.

All of the rookies slept relatively peacefully that night.

All but one…

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Naruto sat, huddled in his shabby apartment, the blanket pulled over his knees, which his head rested on, listening.

There were no noises tonight, no footsteps, and no angry voices; even so, he couldn't fall asleep until he knew he was alone.

An owl screeched, Naruto flinched, and then relaxed, by a hair.

'I hate this place.'

** I know kit…but you shouldn't blame them, Humans fear what they don't understand. **

Naruto sniffed and curled into a ball, an astral projection of a fox the size of a large horse wrapped around him, tails acting like a blanket, and flank a makeshift pillow.

When will they leave me alone? he asked. Kyuubi sighed.

** Let it be for now kit, **he whispered, nuzzling him, **you need you're rest. **

Naruto yawned and, after a moments shuffling, began to snore.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Kakashi, having spent more than enough time at his teammate's and sensei's graves respectively, decided it was time to get on with his chores for today.

Several basic missions, a quick break at the cafeteria, where he agonisingly watched Anko devour the last of the dumplings, and the public humiliation of Guy at rock paper scissors, and Kakashi was quite content with the day and decided to treat himself at the new steakhouse that opened.

Taking a menu he noticed that there were several high ranked members of the leading clan's here, probably as guests.

"What are you doing here brat?" someone sneered.

Kakashi looked up from his menu to see a waiter glaring at a blonde child, who was pointing at a sign.

"Your sign said you needed some help, are you hiring?"

The waiter glared down his nose at the boy, "Maybe, but not you!" he threw an ash-tray at the boy, "Get out of here before I call the chef, He's been dying to have a go at you!"

The look of fear on the boy's face was what snapped Kakashi back into place. 'That's the kid from yesterday!' he stared at the whisker marked features in wonder, before they scrunched up in tears and ran off.

"Pitiful." The waiter muttered, adjusting the tie at his neck, he turned as he saw Kakashi stand up, "Sir, can I help you?"

The waiter would later be admitted to the Konoha medical ward in an attempt to remove his head from the table it had been smashed through.

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"Bastard." Kakashi growled, as he looked for the boy, "Treating a child like that."

Naruto had, from the jounin's viewpoint, been looking a bit green around the gills, and judging from the boy's expression, practically starving.

Could you blame the poor kid for trying to earn a quick meal?

As he passed an alley he noticed that something was hidden behind several garbage bags, further inspection revealed it to be his target.

Kakashi, with worry evident in his eye, moved to examine him, gently turning him over.

'As I thought…malnutrition coupled with exhaustion…he passed out from the strain.'

Picking the boy up he eyed the surroundings, "I need to get him some medical assistance."

With that he teleported, having every confidence in the Konoha medical ninjas.

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Kakashi ground his teeth, trying to restrain himself from using Raikiri on every medic-nin in the hospital. When he tried to check Naruto in, the doctors seemed to almost enjoy taking their sweet time, only to tell him that there were no available staff members, as most had taken the day off.

Deciding to skip any further arguments, Kakashi simply 'jumped' to the Hokage's office and demanded to be admitted.

To say the old man was a little surprised at the intrusion was an understatement.

"Kakashi?" he asked, looking up from his paperwork, "Is something the matter?"

The jounin grunted and set his blonde charge on a bench near the window.

"You could say that…Naruto, after being chased out of a restaurant passed out, from either hunger or strain."

The Hokage seemed surprised as he stood up, tapping out his pipe and refilling it.

"Didn't you take him to the hospital?" the aged leader asked, trying to find his matches, Kakashi snorted.

"They were 'Mysteriously' understaffed." The jounin muttered.

The Sandaime was about to respond when a rather unhealthy growl was emitted from the blondes stomach, leaving echoes throughout the Hokage's office, causing the pair to sweat drop.

"Take his top off Kakashi, maybe he's too warm…", Sarutobi muttered, "I'll try to call my personal physician."

Kakashi nodded and proceeded to do so; after pulling the zipper down slightly his eyes widened and he literally ripped the jacket off and raised the boy's shirt, letting out a cry of shock that drew the Hokage's attention.

The boy's malnutrition was worse than it first appeared, his ribs were almost visible and his stomach was much smaller than it should be, Kakashi may have lacked the perceptive abilities of the Byakugan, but as a former ANBU captain he recognised the signs of starvation.

"What in the name of the Shodai Hokage is this?!" he roared, glaring at the boy's state, "Ibiki's victims aren't nearly this bad off!"

Hokage's eyes went from surprised to being filled with barely concealed anger.

"Kakashi…I think we need to make a pit-stop." He picked up his pipe and nodded for the jounin to follow, bringing the comatose teen with him.

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The two were looking around Naruto's apartment with barely concealed anger. The place looked as if everything in it had been scavenged from the dump; Kakashi swore he remembered chucking that table out a week ago.

The cupboards were full of cup ramen, the cheap type that tasted like re-heated piss in Kakashi's opinion, and the fridge, which seemed to be a preinstalled feature, held one carton of milk, that had expired a month ago.

The Hokage was literally trembling with fury now, as he slowly counted back from a thousand, something he hadn't had to do since his lectures with Jiraiya all those years ago about the boy's lecherous antics.

"I had no idea he was treated this poorly…" he muttered around his pipe, "Though I suppose that's no excuse."

Kakashi nodded, noting that the boy's bedroom was as sparse as the rest of the house, lacking the things that defined a teenage boy, trophies, littered clothing and, in his personal opinion, hidden porn.

"I'm certain that the money I set aside for him this week could have covered the necessities." Sarutobi muttered, noticing the boy's frog wallet was pitifully flat and empty.

Kakashi hefted his burden, trying to make the boy easier to carry, "Hokage-sama?" he asked, waiting for the man to acknowledge him, "I have a suggestion…"

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Sarutobi placed a cool cloth on the boy's forehead, trying to at least rouse him from his slumber.

Kakashi's plan had been to disguise himself as Naruto and walk around town, hopefully gathering much needed information.

There was a commotion at the door, so he left his post and went to investigate.

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"Piss of brat, I highly doubt the Hokage would even spit on trash like you."

Kakashi had to restrain himself from strangling the cat faced ANBU guard, but that would ruin the point of the exercise, besides, he could sense the Hokage's anger on the other side of the door, which swung open.

"Come in Naruto, I'm glad to see you." Sarutobi said, smiling, as he gestured the disguised Jounin in, before glaring at the ANBU.

"Consider yourself reduced to the rank of Genin, hand in you mask on the way out."

As the ANBU stuttered at this harsh punishment, Sarutobi slammed the doors to his office shut. At this, Kakashi dropped the Henge he was under.

"It's worse than we feared," he growled, "every restaurant but a ramen stand called Ichiraku barred my entry and even threw garbage at me on occasions, I was charged ridiculously high prices for the oldest, most obsolete equipment and clothes, and when I tried to buy some fruit at a store, they threatened to call the ANBU, in fact, one or two showed up to intimidate me."

Every word made the Hokage twitch in anger, 'Arashi gave his life for this?' he wondered incredulously, 'The man was a saint in a village of sinners.'

"That's not all, the ANBU incident occurred when I tried to gain entry into the Shinobi library; the harpy at the checkout took one look at me and screeched for security…I think she was Haruno's wife, not many women with pink hair after all."

'Scratch that, a Saint in a hell mouth.' The aged Hokage growled as he marched to his desk and wrote something on several pieces of paper.

"Deliver these to the clan heads, I think it's time we summoned the council."

Kakashi blinked, the clan heads hadn't been assembled since the Uchiha massacre, to summon them all together meant only one thing: heads were going to roll.

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As the cycloptic Jounin left, under the Naruto henge to avoid suspicion, Sarutobi looked up at a picture of the Yondaime.

"I'm Sorry Arashi, but I swear I won't make the same mistake twice."

He looked at the boy lying before him and scowled, "I won't let this ruin your plans, and certainly not after all you gave for him."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three.

Hyuuga Hiashi was a man of many virtues but patience was not one of them. As head of the prestigious Hyuuga clan, he didn't particularly like being summoned from his bed to attend, of all things, an unarranged council meeting.

'This isn't like Sarutobi' he thought, pale eyes narrowing, 'unless we're going to war again?'

As he entered, flanked by his guard, personally selected members of the branch family, he noted that everyone was present, even the Aburame clan's Shibi, whose silent presence added an air of seriousness.

The three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho were also present, Inoichi sitting quietly, Choza eating a rice ball, whilst Shikato was looking around, seemingly bored.

When the Sandaime appeared, Hiashi was about to speak up when he noticed the look in the old man's eye, a look that he'd only seen once before, and wished never to see again.

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"It has come to my attention that there have been a number of injustices being committed upon a certain citizen in this village, someone who I'm sure you're all aware of?"

The clan heads looked amongst each other, until Inuzuka Tsume, ever eloquent, spoke up.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" she asked, which basically summed up everybody's thoughts.

Sarutobi glared at the woman and her canine until said animal began to whine.

"I am referring to one Uzumaki Naruto."

The elders began to speak out when they were silenced by a glare filled with more than a little killing intent.

Nara Shikato actually sat up straight, eyes wide, 'Oh fuck, he's pissed.'

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In the world of Shinobi, there are several little facts that anyone learns quickly; One is that one doesn't become a Kage without being the strongest, most powerful ninja in the village, and secondly, that being in the same room as an angered Hokage meant one of few things: Someone was either going to be demoted, killed, spending the next few years either performing d-ranked missions or recovering from the most severe beating of their life in intensive care.

From the look on the Sandaime's face, it looked like all of the above was about to be added to the ever growing list.

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"The boy is only a teenager and yet he has suffered such mistreatment that even Morino Ibiki was shocked! Just look at this!"

A projector started up and displayed a picture of a rather thin blonde, Choza actually gasped in fright.

"How can anyone be that thin and live?!" he yelled, "There's no way that picture can be real!"

Sarutobi scowled, "It's real alright, I took it myself, after I had Naruto examined by my personal physician."

He turned to look at them all, "Hatake Kakashi, former ANBU captain, now Jounin, spent a day disguised as Naruto, and the level of abuse he suffered varied outright cruelty to potential murder."

Hiashi frowned, "So? The boy has that damned fox sealed in him; wouldn't it be better if someone just killed him off?"

There was a general amount of agreement from the clan heads, except, unsurprisingly, Aburame Shibi, who merely remained silent.

The Sandaime scowled at the Hyuuga, "Vessel or not, I swore to Yondaime that the boy would not be harmed by this village, his last wish was for the boy to be seen as a hero."

Hiashi frowned, "Pardon me, Hokage Sama, but I fail to see why Yondaime would put so much emphasis on this brat's safety. I'll admit the man was a saint, but even he wouldn't harbor a demon."

Again there was a round of agreement and Hiashi felt as if he'd sufficiently ended the argument, especially when the Hokage sighed.

"Perhaps you're right, what was I thinking?"

Hiashi smirked, "A simple lapse of judgment Hokage sama…"

"After all, why on earth would a man go to such lengths to protect his own child?"

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The room fell silent, as if struck dumb, even Shibi's eyes widened behind his ever-present glasses.

Choza had stopped eating, Shikato looked startled and Inoichi's eyes were as wide as saucers.

Tsume's jaw actually hung loose, while the Hyuuga head seemed at a loss for words.

"So you're saying…" Shibi began, and the Sandaime nodded.

"The boy is Kazama Kaji, Son of Kazama Arashi, the Yondaime."

The room fell deathly silent, before Shikato spoke up, "But hold up, Yondaime never married! How could he have a son?!"

"He DID marry; he just never publicly announced it." Sarutobi replied, pulling out his pipe and lighting it.

"I personally married them, I even delivered the boy when the time came, not even Jiraiya, the fourth's sensei, knows about the union."

He took a drag of his pipe, "Only two other people know of the boy's heritage, one of them is Orochimaru, who happened to find out by chance."

Everyone flinched at this, the Snake sennin's name still being a sore point to many jounin.

"And the second?" Shikato asked.

Sarutobi sighed, "The ANBU who helped deliver him, Uchiha Itachi."

Everyone's eyes widened, Two S-class missing-nins with knowledge of the Yondaime's son, this was bad.

"Also, as a result of the Fourth's seal, he will soon gain control over the Kyuubi's chakra."

Everyone flinched as the math added up:

The Yondaime's son, coupled with the infinite chakra of the Kyuubi.

In Laymen's terms…SNAFU.

Sarutobi exhaled, "So as you can see, we have a genin with the potential to become the next Hokage, who according to Kakashi, has more than enough reason to justifiably hate everyone in this village."

The elders flinched at this, realizing what this meant; it would be the Uchiha massacre all over again, on a larger scale.

"As of today, I am making it clear that if any one so much as threatens the boy and I hear of it, I'll trace it back to their clan head."

He looked around, "I trust the actions I have explained will not occur again?"

The clan heads nodded, before being allowed to leave, their worlds sufficiently rocked.

Hiashi, in particular, was trying to see the potential benefits in this turn of events.

'Limitless power and the blood of the Yondaime…'

He frowned, 'The boy would make a brilliant ally to the clan…I think a little family meeting is in order.'

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Kakashi stared down at the boy in his arms in wonder, to think that he'd end up taking a vested interest in the boy due to the Hokage's orders…he hoped Anko or worse, Gai never found out or he'd never live it down. He sighed as he marched towards the home of someone the Hokage had deemed the boy's new caretaker, a Chunin by the name of Umino Iruka.

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It was a dark day in Konohagakure for many people; several ANBU and Jounin were demoted to Genin and stuck doing the most degrading tasks, several stores received threats of having their licenses revoked, and the mother of a certain pink haired academy student lost her job at the library, under grounds of unfair treatment.

On a brighter note, Ichiraku Ramen received the Hokage's personal recommendation, vastly increasing their amount of customers.

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Umino Iruka was just relaxing after a long day at the academy when he received a knock on the door. When he saw the cycloptic jounin carrying one of his students he feared the worst.

"Naruto! What happened?" he asked, taking the boy from the man.

Kakashi shrugged, "He passed out from exhaustion." he shrugged and turned around, "Anyway, Hokage-sama says that the boy shouldn't live on his own anymore, so you'll be taking care of him."

When Iruka's jaw hit the ground, he smirked, "The paper work should arrive later on, have a nice day!"

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Naruto awoke around noon to find himself in unfamiliar surroundings, stripped to his under garments and wrapped up in a warm bed.

'Where am I?' he wondered, feeling nervous. Just then, the door opened, and his academy teacher walked in, carrying a tray.

"Naruto! You're awake?" he smiled; "I thought you'd still be asleep, but I brought some food anyway."

He set the tray down, picking a bowl up and offering it to the boy.

Naruto edged back, wary of the food. Was it poisoned? Drugged?

Iruka's smile faltered, "Naruto, when was the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday morning." The boy replied, "My ramen rations ran out."

Iruka raised an eyebrow, "Rations? Why didn't you just eat at a stall?"

"Ichiraku was closed, and…" he shivered, "I can't go in the other stores."

Iruka stared at him, "Why not?"

Naruto shivered and looked down, "They said if I did…They'd kill me."

Iruka's eyes widened, then he grit his teeth, 'Bastards!'

He caught sight Naruto's worried features and calmed down.

"Naruto, I'm here to protect you, not hurt you, if anyone tries that again, you just have to come to me, or Hokage-sama, okay?"

Naruto's eye's didn't lift, so the Chunin set the bowl aside and, to the surprise of the vessel, embraced him.

"You're safe now Naruto, while I live, you'll never be hurt in this house."

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Naruto stared blankly at the wall as the Chunin stroked his back; he was surprised as he felt his limbs relax.

'What's happening? What is this feeling?"

** Security kit, you feel safe around him. **

Ni-san? Naruto whispered in his head, Should I trust him? 

** You should, I can sense his concern for you, it's the same as the old-one's, the one who runs the village, those two have always cared for you, and from the look's of thing's, always will. **

Naruto, reassured by the words of his 'brother' latched onto Iruka as if hardly daring to believe it, tears running down his face as, for the first time, he allowed himself to cry in front of someone.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four.

Several years later… 

Taking his sweet time, Kakashi trudged over to the academy, noting that the other teams, and even the students, had long since disappeared. He cocked an eyebrow, wondering if he'd kept them waiting long enough, before shrugging.

'With any luck, they'll have given up and gone home.' he thought gleefully.

No such luck, as he neared the classroom he heard the telltale signs that someone was in the room, namely, a girl's loud voice, and someone's grunted reply.

Wishing he were somewhere else, the Jounin entered the class, half expecting an eraser to fall on his head.

Instead all that happened was the girl shutting up, 'thank Kami', and two pairs of interested eyes looking up at him.

'Wait…two?'

He looked round the class and spotted the third of his charges, sitting at the very back of the class. His eye widened at the sight of someone he hadn't seen since he'd left him with Iruka.

The blonde was reading a book, seemingly not interested in his surroundings; his clothes looked second hand but even so, suited him.

He wore what looked like the basic lower half of a Chunin outfit, but his upper body was clothed in a black, sleeveless version of a trench coat, over a red shirt. The boys face seemed normal enough, were it not for the whisker marks that marred it, but it certainly looked healthier than the last time, more full, as if he received regular meals now.

'So that's him.' The jounin thought, having not laid eyes on the vessel since he was adopted. The boy hadn't even turned to look at him, so he cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Team Seven?" he asked, "Meet me on the rooftop in ten minutes."

He didn't wait for their reply, but promptly vanished in a swirl of leaves.

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Approximately ten minutes later, and the team was sitting at the training area. Kakashi ran his normal eye over them.

'The rookie of the year, the runner up, and the vessel.' he pondered, 'wonder how they measure up?'

He looked at Naruto, who looked back, 'I wonder how he's grown up?'

"Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves." He said, eyeing them all.

"Like what?" The girl asked, looking confused.

The Jounin shrugged.

"…You know the usual. Your likes, your dislikes, dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."

"Can you go first?" The girl asked nervously, "I mean, you are the stranger here…"

Kakashi shrugged again.

"Oh…me? I'm Hatake Kakashi; I'm the kind of guy that doesn't like talking about my likes and dislikes. My future dreams are none of your business…but I do have lots of hobbies."

The three genin sweatdropped, having learned nothing from this introduction.

"Anyway, Pinky, you're up first." He said, nodding at the girl.

Flushing slightly at the title, the girl started her intro, which mostly consisted of not-so subtle comments and looks aimed at her raven haired team-mate, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring her.

"And I hate perverts and Ino-pig!" she finished.

Kakashi mentally groaned, 'a fan-girl, why for the love of god did it have to be a fan-girl?'

Ignoring the blushing kunoichi, he looked at the object of her one-sided affection. "Next?"

The boy didn't raise his head, just scowled at the jounin.

"My names Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see how it matters, as there are very few things I like. Dreams are pointless, what I have…is determination, I've sworn to restore my clan, and there is someone I've sworn to kill."

Kakashi frowned a little at this.

'…I suspected as much…' he muttered, before eyeing the vessel, "and finally, Blondie."

The boy looked up from his book, eyes seeming almost bored, before looking at it again, saying nothing; Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Yo…today if you don't mind?"

The blond lifted his head a little, "Uzumaki Naruto." He said, and then fell silent.

Sasuke looked at him, wondering what the hell the blonde's problem was.

'Is he brain damaged or something?' the Uchiha wondered.

Kakashi's eye creased as he smiled, "So you can talk."

He waved his hand to gain the kid's attention.

"Anything to add? What do you like?"

Naruto shrugged.

"Ramen, my guardian, reading."

He seemed to put emphasis into the last statement, as if he didn't like being interrupted.

Sakura looked at him, "What are you reading; it doesn't look like a library book…"

Naruto refused to answer, just turned the page and ignored her.

"Hey! I'm talking to you Dammit!" the Kunoichi shrieked, to which Naruto replied: "Hmm? You say something?"

Kakashi smirked at the kunoichi reddening face.

'I like this kid.'

"What do you hate?" the jounin asked.

"This village." The blond replied, causing his two teammates to stare at him in shock.

"I hate everyone in it, EXCEPT for my precious people."

Kakashi stared at the boy 'This isn't good.'

He shook himself.

"Got any dreams there?"

Naruto shrugged again,dismissively.

"To get stronger, to repay Iruka-san, and protect those precious to me."

He raised his head, frowning slightly.

"And like Sasuke, I got to kill someone too."

Kakashi's eyebrow rose, intrigued, after all, the list of suspects coud include half the village in Naruto's case.

"…who?"

Naruto refused to elaborate, causing the jounin to scratch his head in irritation.

"So your reason for becoming a ninja?" he asked, trying to find SOMETHING out about the boy.

Naruto raised his head a little, "Nii-san said I should."

This stumped the jounin, who knew the boy was an orphan.

"Nii-san? You mean Iruka?" he asked, hoping the boy would elaborate.

But Naruto said nothing, just lowered his head again, as if hoping that would end the discussion.

Kakashi sighed, knowing he was going to regret this.

"Formal training begins tomorrow."

He said, stretching, "We'll be doing survival exercises, gotta warn you though, you really shouldn't eat anything…unless you enjoy puking.'

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Kakashi sat in the jounin bar, sipping an energy drink and glaring at a miniscule speck on the wall, as if trying to drill through it.

Kurenai and Asuma walked up, the genjutsu specialist and the chain smoker seemed deep in conversation.

"Yo."

Kakashi greeted, waving them over. The female jounin nodded and Asuma took a drag of his cancer-stick.

"So how're the teams looking this year?"

Asuma shrugged.

"I got the second generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, they're not up to their parent's level but their teamwork's good, once Ino starts yelling at the others."

Kurenai nodded.

"My teams not too bad either, I have the Hyuuga heiress Hinata, her forms good, but she lacks confidence. Aburame Shino's quiet, but he's got a good head on his shoulders, which is a relief, since the Inuzuka boy seems to have his volume dial stuck on high."

Kakashi cringed, knowing just how rowdy THAT particular clan got.

Asuma lit another cigarette.

"What about your lot Kakashi?"

The cycloptic Jounin shrugged.

"I got stuck with Sasuke from Uchiha, one of his groupies and the vessel."

The two winced at this clipped reply.

"Ouch." Asuma muttered, "So how'd they measure up?"

Kakashi sighed, covering his eye.

"Sasuke's so much like I used to be I'm almost ashamed, and the Haruno girl's so lucky she wasn't assigned to Anko, I swear she gives kunoichi a bad name the way she fawns over Sasuke like that."

Kurenai winced, knowing full well what the sadistic kunoichi thought of such behavior. "And Naruto?" she asked, wondering about the boy.

Kakashi lowered his hand and looked at her for a moment, smiling a little.

"…I don't even know where to start."

Asuma smirked, "Lemme guess…a real dunce…huh?"

To his surprise, Kakashi shook his head.

"Not even close, I learned feck all about him from his intro, other than he doesn't like to talk when he's reading, and that he seems to hate everyone in the village, except Iruka and his 'nii-san', but I could've sworn Iruka was still single." he picked up his drink, "Heck, turns out the only reason the kid's a ninja is because the guy said he should."

The three sat in thought, puzzling over this info; especially the 'hatred for the entire village' part.

Having the Kyuubi's vessel pissed off at the village was a definite problem.

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"Yo." Kakashi greeted.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!" Sakura shrieked, causing the jounin to lose all hearing in his ears for 2.25 seconds.

He blinked when a pebble collided with her skull, shutting her up as she grabbed it in pain.

"Too loud," Naruto muttered, turning a page in his book, "turn it down a notch."

Sakura opened her mouth to screech when Sasuke spoke up.

"He's right, turn it down, who ever heard of a loud ninja?"

When Sakura, sufficiently chastened, sat down, Kakashi tried to get a look at the boy's book, but he put it away as the jounin approached, looking up with an almost bored expression.

"Can we get this over with? I'm sure we all have things we'd rather be doing that don't include your tardiness."

Kakashi sighed, wondering how the kid became such a wise-ass, pulling out the bells and the alarm clock as he did so.

"I've set this clock to go off at noon;"

He said, placing it on a stump.

"You have until then to get a bell off me, if you fail to get a bell, you will be tied to the stump and I'll eat you're lunch in front of you."

"But there are only two bells!"

Sakura cried out, to which Naruto snorted.

"Amazing, she can count to two."

Sasuke actually smirked at this, wondering if he and the blonde may actually get along. Sakura on the other hand, was moving to strangle Naruto, when the Jounin cut in.

"I'd save that bloodlust for when you face me, I won't be holding back…too much…" The Kunoichi blanched at this, whilst Sasuke shivered in anticipation. Naruto on the other hand yawned.

"I hope not, Iruka-san was going on and on about how hard these tests were, I'd hate to find out he was trying to psych me out."

Kakashi grinned at the blonde.

'Cocky bastard, almost like Arashi-sensei.'

"GO!!!" he yelled.

Before he even finished, the trio had made a dash for the cover the woods provided.

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Kakashi sighed; so far he'd only had to deal with Sakura, who was easily dispatched by an illusion regarding the brutal mutilation of her crush. The other two had reacted then with a carefully designed ambush, and in the time it took for him to dodge the last kunai, Sakura had apparently disappeared.

'How annoying' the jounin thought, 'I was hoping to have failed them all by now.'

"Problems in paradise?" a voice called out.

Kakashi turned to see Naruto reading his book, out in the open, not even pretending to hide.

"How long we got? Ten? Twenty minutes?"

He turned the page, "Things aren't looking good."

Kakashi nodded and reached for his own reading material, and froze.

His pouch was empty.

"Looking for this?"

Naruto's voice called out, causing Kakashi to blanch and turn.

The book Naruto was reading changed into Kakashi's beloved orange one, which the blonde held in one hand, pulling his real book out of his coat pocket.

"Now, the way I see it, we have two choices, one you hand over the bells, nice and easy…"

Kakashi snorted, 'Yeah right'.

"And the second choice?"

Naruto smirked, as Sasuke appeared out of no-where a tiger like smirk on his face.

"Then Sasuke-san here will reduce your dime-store smut to ashes with his Goukakyuu jutsu.

Kakashi couldn't unfasten the bells fast enough, he tossed them over to the pair, but Sakura caught them.

"Haruno? Check them."

Naruto asked, eyeing Kakashi as Sasuke made the seals; the pink haired kunoichi did so, before nodding.

"They're real."

Naruto sighed as he tossed the orange book over.

"Really, surrendering the target for cheap pornography? Are you really a former ANBU captain?"

Kakashi flinched, before pocketing the book.

"How'd you get it anyway?" he asked, interested, Naruto shrugged.

"Before you showed up, I used a Kage bunshin to take my place, then used Kawarimi to switch your book with one of these."

He created a bunshin, which promptly used henge to transform into Kakashi's book.

"Took me a while to see what was on your current page, but once I knew it I switched it with the bunshin."

He cocked his head, "After Sasuke and I rescued forehead here,"

The girl yelled at this but was ignored.

"I filled them in on my plan, Sasuke would use his fireball technique on the book, and when you handed the bells over, Haruno-san would check for any genjutsu."

Kakashi stared at the boy, his flabber officially gasted.

'Well now, hasn't he turned out interesting…?'

At that minute, the alarm went off, causing Naruto to smirk, putting his book away, and dispelling his bunshin. He looked at the jounin, a fox-like grin adorning his face that said quite clearly:

"Mission accomplished, Kakashi-sensei."

Love it? Hate it? R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto asked, as he watched the unfortunate cat, Tora, who had escaped for the tenth time that week alone, was crushed against the blubbery face of his owner, Madame Shijimi.

"Could that be considered cruelty to animals?"

Kakashi flinched, hoping the fire daimyo's wife hadn't heard that remark, but the woman merely thanked them and paid for their services at the reception office.

Sasuke, who was looking bored, shrugged off Sakura's advances and looked around the office.

Naruto, marking his page, looked up at the elderly village leader.

"Hey? Oji-san? When can our team do some real work?"

Sakura bonked the blonde on the head, only for him to dissolve into smoke as the bunshin spell broke, and a voice behind her tsked.

"Control your temper Haruno." Naruto muttered, turning a page in his book.

"Unless you want to develop wrinkles on that billboard you call a fore-head."

As Sakura sputtered in outrage, the blonde looked up at the Hokage.

"Can we have a mission with a little excitement this time? It's boring doing all this small stuff, all we're learning is that Kakashi-sensei likes to read his porn while we chase cats."

Kakashi sighed, ignoring the comment to his reading material.

'Be grateful for what you can get!'

He muttered, wondering when the Genin would stop asking that question, unfortunately, the blonde had Sasuke's support in this, surprisingly, and as a result, Sakura's.

Iruka stood up, yelling at his former student, and adoptive brother.

"Don't be a fool! The three of you are still rookies, everyone had to deal with missions of this caliber, it builds the skills necessary for the bigger ones!"

Naruto snorted.

"Gomen Iruka-san..."

He began smirking at the Chunin cheekily.

"But I fail to see how planting potatoes has anything to do with being a shinobi...farmers maybe, but not Shinobi."

Sighing in exasperation, Kakashi bopped the blonde on the head for his cheek.

"That's enough Naruto, knock it off!"

The Hokage puffed on his pipe, frowning slightly.

"I understand your frustration, Naruto; but missions of a higher caliber demand an a equal level of skill and experience that only Higher ranked Shinobi can supply."

He took a drag of his pipe, before pointing at Iruka and Kakashi.

"Such as Iruka and Kakashi, whose rank's are Chunin, or journeyman Ninja, and Jounin, one of the Elite, respectively."

He exhaled, sighing sagely.

"Missions ranks are carefully evaluated by the council, and range from A to D in descending order of difficulty."

He waved his pipe at the group.

"Having only attained the rank of Genin, do you really expect to receive missions that outrank your capabilities?"

The Sandaime asked, looking at Naruto, who was reading from his book again, to the exasperation of Kakashi.

"ARE YOU LISTENING?!" The Hokage yelled, miffed at being ignored.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, mortally embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry Hokage-sama"

"No need to apologize Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto cut in, turning his page without a care in the world.

"I heard every word."

He looked at the Hokage out of the corner of his eye.

"I understand what you're saying, Oji-san, but I don't really agree."

He pointed to his Hitai-ate leaf headband, tapping the metal.

"This marks me as an adult Shinobi of Konohagakure, and as an adult, I can't very well be coddled all my life, can I?"

He smirked, causing the old man to shiver at the fox-like expression on his face.

"How am I supposed to gain experience required for the big stuff if I do nothing but plant crops and baby-sit for children and lost cats? I'm not the child you think I am."

Iruka looked at his adoptive Outoto before smiling in a knowing way, a look that was shared by the Hokage. The old man chuckled.

"Very well since you put it that way…"

Sakura and Kakashi stared at the elder whilst Sasuke looked indifferent.

"…I shall permit you all to attempt a C-grade mission normally reserved for Chunin ranked Shinobi…"

He smiled around his pipe, a merry twinkle in his eyes, "The protection of a certain individual."

Whilst Kakashi and Sakura picked their jaws off the ground, Naruto smirked and put away his book.

"A C-ranked bodyguard mission? Then I doubt it's some Lord, Daimyo or Princess we're being assigned to."

The Hokage smirked, and chuckled, "I agree, he certainly isn't some great lord"

'And he's DEFINITLY no princess.' the elderly shinobi thought weakly

The door opened and an old man walked in, Sake bottle in hand and wearing a travel sack.

He took one look at them, took a swig of the liver-poisoning liquid, and snorted. "What's going on here? They look like a bunch of Wet-nosed brats."

He looked at Naruto and snorted derisively; "Especially, the blonde midget, head stuck in a book daydreaming, are you guys really ninjas?"

The old man got his answer, in the form of several kunai thrown at his nether regions, painfully close to actually hitting.

"I'd choose my words carefully old man." Naruto said, turning the page with his free hand.

"Insulting a shinobi, even a genin, is not a mistake most civilians are given a chance to repeat."

The old man shivered, looking nervous as he stepped away from the wall, trying not to disturb the Kunai.

Naruto looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"And our employer would be you?"

The old man nodded, seeming to grow more confident as he puffed his chest out.

"I am Tazuna, a bridge builder of ultimate renown."

He looked over the group, carefully.

"Until I'm safely back in my home country, where my current project is under way, I'll expect you to protect me with your lives."

Naruto nodded and put away his book, walking over to the wall and reclaiming his kunai.

Kakashi, wondering what the brat had gotten them into, sighed.

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The group watched as the giant gates closed, cutting off the view of Konoha. Naruto looked around, intrigued.

"This is the first time I've been outside the village walls."

He said, eyeing the dense forest surrounding them.

"I see now why they call it the village hidden in the leaves."

Sakura rolled her eyes, snorting derisively.

"You mean you didn't know there was a forest out here? What kind of moron are you?"

She said snidely, trying to get one up on the blonde.

"Do you hear the wind blowing?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke, "I swear I heard a load of hot air pass by…"

Sakura glared daggers at the blonde whilst Tazuna wisely decided to drink his Sake and keep his comments to himself.

Kakashi, deciding to get the group moving before there was bloodshed, started walking.

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The group was moving along pretty quietly; aside form Sakura's failed attempts at getting Sasuke's attention. Tazuna merely looked nervous, Kakashi had his usual bored expression, Sasuke was pointedly ignoring the kunoichi, whilst Naruto was nose deep in his ever-present book, doggedly avoiding Kakashi's attempts to read over his shoulder.

** Kit…something's wrong… **

You sensed it too? 

Naruto asked, turning the page as if nothing was wrong.

** It's been sunny for several days now, and there's been no rain…so why is there a puddle to the side up ahead? **

Naruto frowned, Shinobi? 

** That or Kappas, and I doubt they'd be daft enough to hide in a puddle of all things. **

Naruto nodded, picking up the pace until he was shoulder to shoulder with Sasuke. "Trouble ahead, shinobi."

He whispered, and then eased up until he was near Tazuna and Kakashi, not giving the raven-haired teen a chance to reply.

After they'd passed the puddle, two figures emerged from it, moving to attack, ensnaring Kakashi in a razor-chain, ripping the jounin asunder.

As Sakura freaked, they turned to view the other targets, charging towards Tazuna.

Sakura shrieked and jumped in front of him, whilst Sasuke and Naruto tossed kunai at the chain, effectively trapping them to a tree. In response, the duo snapped the chain, lunging towards the kunoichi.

Naruto leapt forward, slamming into one and receiving a slash on his hand as a result, whilst Sasuke sent the other back with a kick to the head. The two regrouped and charged, only for Kakashi to clothesline them, catching each around the neck with his arms.

"Sorry about that, I should have helped out sooner."

He eyed Naruto's hand, frowning at the gash.

"I didn't expect you to get injured."

Naruto shrugged, lifting the injured hand up like it was no big deal.

"Those guys were all claws and no bite; a flesh wound like this isn't something to sweat over."

Kakashi frowned, deadly serious.

"No, but the poison that coats the claws is."

He nodded as Naruto stiffened.

"We need to clean that wound as soon as possible."

Naruto scowled, drew a kunai, and before anyone could say anything, cut his hand open, when Sakura moved to shriek he silenced her with a glare.

"The flow of blood should wash away the poison, and ensure none enters my bloodstream."

Not that I need to worry about being poisoned, you Chakra literally neutralizes any foreign drugs or toxins in my body, nii-san. 

** It does pay to keep up appearances though. **

While conversing with Kyuubi, Naruto allowed Kakashi to wrap his hand in bandages, taking it out of the jounin's grasp as he noticed how quickly the wound had healed.

Naruto walked over to the two Chunin, glaring back at them until they lowered their gazes.

"So what do we do about Laurel and Hardy here? I doubt it'd be clever to just leave them."

Kakashi frowned then nodded.

"When you were fighting, I sent a message to any nearby Konoha ANBU to deal with these two."

He glared at them, causing them to flinch.

"I'm sure they'll love to spill their guts as to why they were waiting to ambush us."

The cycloptic Jounin turned to Tazuna, his gaze not losing its intensity.

"Though I'm sure our employer has a good enough idea…eh, Tazuna-san?"

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While the adults talked, Naruto pulled his book out, and began reading, until Sasuke walked up to him, not saying anything. After a while, Naruto looked at him over the top of his book.

"Yes?"

"Nice spot back there; how'd you know where they were?", The Uchiha asked, to which Naruto shrugged.

"Not many puddles are about during a day like this, especially when it hasn't rained in over a week."

He turned the page in his book, nodding over his shoulder.

"That and the fact that our employer was obviously spooked about something."

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Sakura seethed as the two boys chatted, as if she wasn't there.

'Damn it, I spent weeks trying to get Sasuke to even look at me and here's Naruto talking to him like it's no big deal!'

Inside her head, Inner Sakura ripped an image of Naruto to shreds, before setting said shreds on fire.

"Sasuke! You were so cool!"

She cried out, trying to gain her crush's attention.

The Uchiha ignored her, whilst Naruto looked over the top of his book at her, almost bored.

"Hmm? Where'd you pop up from? Didn't we leave you in Konoha?"

As Sakura gnashed her teeth, ignored by both of her teammates, the two adults continued their conversation, ignoring the grinding noises that sounded like slabs of rock rubbing against each other.

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"I have to admit, that's one hell of a bridge."

Naruto said, as they crossed by boat to the wave country.

Kakashi had to agree, despite himself.

'It would appear that Tazuna wasn't bragging about his skills as a bridge maker.'

The Ferryman looked over his shoulder, nervous.

"Tazuna… so far we've been overlooked, but just to be on the safe side, we'll take the inland route and make landfall under the Mangrove covering."

Tazuna nodded, grateful for the aid.

"Thanks."

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"Thanks again…you took such a risk, I shouldn't have asked it of you."

The Ferryman nodded, before moving his boat away, disappearing into the mist.

As the group moved on, Naruto began to shiver, as if something cold was slithering down his spine.

** You're being watched. **

Naruto scowled, then tossed a shuriken into the shrubbery, startling the others.

"Naruto! What the heck?!" Sakura screeched, startled out of her wits. "Are you trying to act cool again?!"

Ignoring the kunoichi, Naruto marched into the bush, and came back holding a snow hare and his shuriken.

"Look what you did!" The kunoichi shrieked again, taking a superior tone, "Attacking an innocent creature like that!"

"And you're supposed to be the brightest kunoichi in Konoha?" Naruto said in a bored, annoyed tone.

"Clearly the standards have plummeted."

As Sakura sputtered, Naruto, pocketed his Shuriken, and then held up the rabbit to her face by its ears.

"First off, this Snow-hare has its winter coat on, but it's the middle of summer."

He pulled out a piece of cloth, shoving that under her nose as well.

"Secondly, this is a piece of fabric from someone's clothes, which I'm sure isn't the hare's".

He put the cloth away and petted the hare, calming it down.

"My guess is that this is someone's pet, and they used it to switch places with via Kawarimi." Sasuke stated with a frown, before glaring at Sakura in annoyance.

"And another thing, how the hell are we supposed to sneak into wave country if you deafen every living thing within earshot with your screeching?"

Sakura's mouth opened and closed but no words came out, too shocked, embarrassed and angry to say anything, when Kakashi yelled for them to take cover.

Naruto kicked out, causing Sakura to fall over, just in time as a massive sword whirled through the air, slamming into a tree as it passed.

When the group looked up, there was a man standing on the sword's handle, looking over his shoulder at them, his headband displaying four curved lines.

** This one is much stronger than the two before, I'd say Jounin level at least. **

Naruto nodded, on guard and ready to fight or flee.

He must be if he actually can fight with that overgrown cleaver, it must weigh more than he does. 

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"Well, well…if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid that ran of and left Kiri no kuni, the land of Mist!"

Kakashi muttered, looking up at the Nin, cautiously.

Naruto was about to say something when Kakashi waved a hand in front of his face.

"Don't interfere, give me room."

He looked up, frowning slightly, "This one's on a higher level than our former opponents."

He reached for his headband, whilst the missing Nin nodded slightly.

"Sharingan Kakashi I presume?" Zabuza asked, almost bored.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?"

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When the Shinobi said the word Sharingan two things happened.

Firstly, Sasuke startled, knowing that the Sharingan was a bloodline limit exclusive to his clan alone.

Secondly, Naruto, having been briefed on the Sharingan before thanks to Kyuubi, decided now would be a goods time to learn some new techniques.

Onii-san, I'm going to activate IT now. He said, waiting for the Fox's approval.

** Don't forget to cast a genjutsu, or you'll blow everything. **

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, channeling chakra into them, before snapping them open again.

'KYUGAN!'

Instantly, his eyes went red, with slit, almost animalistic, pupils. Not that anyone noticed, as the genjutsu he'd placed around him caused his eyes to appear their normal blue.

Zabuza cleared his throat.

"Enough. Pleasant as this conversation has been…the time for talk is over. I'm on a tight schedule to polish off the old man."

He shifted his glare from Tazuna, to Kakashi.

"But I suppose I'll have to kill you first, eh Kakashi?"

With that he teleported, and reappeared standing on the lake, hands already forming seals. Ignoring Sakura's statement that Zabuza was walking on water, Naruto studied the seal, instantly learning the technique.

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"The finest of the Ninja arts; the Kirigakure no jutsu."

Zabuza muttered, before the mist enveloped him.

"Be on your guard everyone."

Kakashi warned, eyeing the mist with trepidation.

"Momochi Zabuza, of the Kirigakure ANBU corps, is a famous master of the art of silent killing. Letting your guard down around him buys you a direct trip to heaven."

'Or hell.' Naruto thought grimly, a smirk on his face, as his eyes easily saw through the technique.

"There are eight targets…"

Zabuza's voice called out, eerily nerve-racking, like something out of a horror film directed by Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko.

"Throat, Spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the sub-clavian artery, kidney, heart…so many choices, what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose? Heh-heh."

Naruto smirked, as the laughter died down.

'Intimidation tactics, not bad, make them piss themselves in fear and they'll start wishing for you to kill them.'

He noticed Kakashi doing a set of seals and his smirk grew.

'That's three new techniques I've learned today, all from this hidden mist jounin.'

"Sasuke. Calm down." Kakashi said, causing the Uchiha to startle.

"Even if he gets me I'll still protect you."

The jounin smiled happily at the Uchiha, "I will never let my comrades die!"

Naruto snorted softly in amusement, 'Big words from a water doppelganger.'

"I wouldn't bet on that."

Zabuza stated, appearing right in the middle of them and about to swing at Tazuna, until Naruto's foot hit him in the chin, followed closely by Kakashi ramming into his chest.

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That water prison may come in handy at some stage. Naruto muttered, watching as Kakashi floundered inside.

But the lack of mobility is a hindrance . 

** Plus you lack any training in one handed seals, so you'll need to train harder before you can use it. **

At that minute, Zabuza's Mizu-bunshin charged, sending the blonde genin flying with a kick, his Hitai-ate trapped under its foot.

"Everyone, listen! Take Tazuna and go!" Kakashi called out from the prison.

"You can't win this fight, and he can't leave this spot if he wishes to hold me! And his Mizu-bunshin will lose its integrity the further it gets from him! So scram!"

They were about to do so when Naruto charged the bunshin, kunai in hand. The bunshin went to kick, and connected, but not before the blonde had achieved his goal, retrieving his headband.

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"You can threaten me, you can hit me, and you can even try to kill me…" Naruto muttered, rubbing the blood off his chin.

"I'm used to that, so it means nothing to me."

He lifted the Hitai ate up and fastened it back on.

"But try to take this from me, one of the few things I've worked hard to achieve…and I'll come at you with everything I've got, even if it kills me."

He tightened the headband with a tug.

"That's my word as a ninja."

The blonde smirked, fox-like; "Let's dance, you brow-less macaque."

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Zabuza growled at the reference to his eyebrows, wondering what the kid was made of, letting himself be hit just for a headband.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called over his shoulder, gaining the Uchiha's attention.

"You up for a little rumble?"

The Uchiha replied with a smirk that clearly said: 'you have to ask?'

Looking over at Sakura Naruto nodded.

"Haruno, keep the old man safe, don't want any fatalities here."

Then he turned to Zabuza, smirking.

"Ladies first, Zabu-chan."

Zabuza bristled at the nickname, wondering how the hell this kid managed to look so damn cocky.

'I feel like ramming Kubikiri Houcho down his throat just to get rid of that infuriating smirk!'

"You seem very sure of yourself." He muttered, fighting to retain his composure.

"But you're delusional if you actually think you stand a chance against me."

Naruto snorted, clearly unimpressed.

"Tough talk coming from a guy that's so afraid of Kakashi-sensei that he trapped him in a jutsu that renders both user and victim immobile."

Zabuza bristled, and then began to chuckle, almost sinisterly.

"Apparently you don't plan to live very long."

He lifted his free hand up, slowly, "Playing about, pretending to be real ninjas. I however…"

Zabuza held his hand up to his face, almost claw-like.

"By the time I'd reached your age, I'd already dyed these hands in the blood of my opponents."

The group, even Naruto, flinched at this, whilst Kakashi growled in his prison.

"The demon…Zabuza!"

Zabuza nodded, looking interested, "It would appear that my reputation has preceded me."

"Long ago...in Kirigakure, which even today is known as the village of the bloody mist." Kakashi stated, keeping his eyes on his captor.

"The final test for any potential shinobi was the most inhumanely difficult imaginable."

Zabuza looked at his captive, impressed, "Ah…so you've heard of our little graduation exercise."

Naruto frowned, interested despite himself, "Graduation exercise? What the hell are you talking about?"

Zabuza began to chuckle again, actually lowering his head, but when he looked up his eyes were almost demonic in the amount of sadistic humor they showed.

"It was a killing spree, among classmates."

Naruto's eyes shot open, as did Sasuke's, Sakura looked deathly pale, and Tazuna was turning green.

Kakashi continued, looking disgusted.

"Students that had grown up together, been friends, eating together, were divided into pairs and fought to the death."

He looked over his students, trying to get the point across.

"Think of it, students that had trained together, lived together, and shared each others hopes and dreams…"

Sakura flinched, shaking in fear.

"…That's terrible…" She whispered, covering her mouth.

Kakashi nodded, agreeing with her.

"Ten years ago, the Elders of Kirigakure were forced to enact a sweeping reform of their barbaric graduation ritual, because of the appearance, during the previous year, of a human fiend who made the reform essential…"

Sakura looked up, interested like the bookworm she was, "What kind of reform?"

Zabuza lowered his head, eyes closed.

"What are you talking about, what did the fiend do?" The kunoichi asked, voice shaking.

Kakashi closed his eyes, "Without a moments hesitation, without the slightest hint of a qualm, a boy that hadn't even qualified as a ninja yet…"

His eyes shot open to glare at his captor, "…Butchered over a hundred members of that years graduating class."

Zabuza lifted his head, a look of sadistic glee on his face as he smiled.

"Ah yes. Good times…I used to have such fun."

He looked at the genin, causing them to flinch in horror.

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Naruto, shocked to his core shivered.

'This guy butchered that year's graduates? And he hadn't even qualified as a ninja himself?'

He whistled mentally, laughing weakly, 'And they call me a monster, if that's true, then this guy's a full fledged devil.'

** So it would appear. **

Naruto frowned, Still, a killing spree among graduates? That's just retarded, you'd lose half your prospective shinobi in the process, and surely alienate certain members of society. 

** Humans are renowned for their cruelty to their own kind, even among the Bijou. I'd expect nothing less from a village that is proud to bear the title of 'Bloody Mist'. **

Naruto jumped as he heard Sasuke cry out, watching as the Doppelganger stood on him preparing for a finishing blow. Cursing, the blonde summoned over twenty Kage-bunshins and swarmed the Mizu-bunshin, dog-piling on him. The water clone replied by swinging his massive sword around, destroying all of them.

Sasuke rolled away, holding his ribs where the bunshin had slammed into him, before a shout caught his attention.

"Sasuke! Catch!"

He did so, smirking like a serpent as his hand gripped something familliar.

'Not bad…not bad at all!'

Flipping the Fuhma Shuriken out and hiding it behind his own, he glared at the jounin, before hurling both at the real Zabuza.

Zabuza, smirking, caught it, before seeing the second still heading for him.

'Kage-shuriken?' He wondered, jumping over it, and leering at the Uchiha.

"Amateur!"

There was a 'poof' behind him, as the shuriken he'd just dodged transformed into Naruto, who drew a kunai back.

"Amateur, indeed." The blonde said, smirking.

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I have to remember to thank Kakashi later, Naruto said, turning the page in his book, as he deactivated his jutsu, dispelling the genjutsu as well.

The water dragon missile and that waterfall technique make excellent additions to my arsenal. 

** Still, you need to be aware that those techniques require water to be performed, though I suppose with sufficient chakra and control, you could use the water in the air… **

Naruto nodded, having done his research, Nidaime, the second Hokage, was famous for doing that, so it shouldn't be a problem for us. 

He looked over at Tazuna who was carrying the exhausted carcass of Kakashi, along with Sasuke.

"Tazuna-san? Which way do we go again?"

Sakura scowled at him, before shrieking.

"Why is Sasuke carrying Kakashi sensei?! Why aren't you doing anything?!"

Naruto sighed and turned the page, "One, because in case you forgot, Kakashi sensei's Sharingan drained him of his chakra. Two, Zabuza could have more accomplices waiting for us, so I'm on guard. Three, Sasuke could be on guard too, but he was injured during the fight with Zabuza, I'm sure he's got more than a few bruised ribs after being slammed like that."

He turned the page again, scowling at her.

"And since you just stood there during the fight and did nothing, I highly doubt you have any authority to be telling me to work."

Sakura was about to say something when he glared at her again.

"We're on a mission, Haruno, so shut your mouth and move your ass."

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With Kakashi tucked away, the group turned their attention to other matters, namely the masked Nin that took out Zabuza.

"That mask is worn by the elite amongst the Kirigakure ninja's, the hunter-nins, codenamed the 'Undertaker Squad'."

Kakashi explained, exhausted, "They're called that because they dispose of corpses so thoroughly it's as if they never existed."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding, "Makes sense, even after a shinobi's death, their bodies can yield interesting information to those that know where to look, chakra usage, skills, even the drugs or potion ingredients consumed."

He snorted, taking out his book and beginning to read, "So much for that old saying: 'Dead men tell no tales'…"

He looked over at Sasuke, and smirked, "Guess whoever said that, never met a ninja in his life."

The Uchiha smirked in reply, wincing at the stiffness in his ribs.

Kakashi chuckled weakly, "In any case, Hunter-nins specialize in hunting down missing-nins, and obliterating their remains, in order to ensure their villages respective secrets remain just that."

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling, "Silently and without a trace, that is how Shinobi leave this world."

The occupant's of the room lowered their heads, except Sakura who shivered at an image of Zabuza's corpse lying in several pieces, like building blocks.

What do you think?

Note: Kyugan basically is short for Nine-eyes. Details on the Kyugan's ability will be explained later, for a visual, just look at Naruto's eyes when he's being influenced by Kyuubi's chakra.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six.

Naruto stared at his instructor as if he'd sprouted a tail, rubbing a finger in his ear.

"I think I misheard you, I could have sworn you said we'd be climbing trees as training."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, as he steadied himself on his crutches. "You heard right! It's very good for Chakra control." He opened his eye and looked over them all, "Especially since you won't be allowed to use your hands."

Sakura looked at him, flummoxed, 'How the-?'

Kakashi promptly made the ram seal and walked up the tree, crutches and all, until he was standing upside down like some overgrown bat.

"Gaining mastery over this kind of technique, means that you'll have greater chakra control, as well as increasing your chakra levels, so theoretically, mastering this technique means that no jutsu should be beyond you."

"That's good to know." A voice said behind him.

Kakashi spun and to his surprise, saw Naruto, standing beside him on the branch, reading his book upside down. "I certainly hope no jutsu should be beyond me after this, otherwise I'm going to be disappointed."

Whilst Sakura and Sasuke picked their jaws off the ground, Kakashi stared at the so-called 'dead-last at the academy' in wonder.

'methinks that there's some research to be done here…' the jounin thought.

"Well, since you've mastered this, I guess there's no need for you to be here," he nodded in the direction of the house, "you can guard Tazuna while Sakura and Sasuke train."

He walked down again, "I'm going to rest up."

Naruto nodded, before walking down the tree to the floor. As he passed Sasuke he stopped, "Been meaning to ask you." He said, getting the Uchiha's attention "What are the seals for that fireball technique of yours?"

Sasuke frowned, "Where'd you learn to do that?" he nodded towards the tree.

Naruto shrugged, "I'd practice after school, since no-one seemed to care what I did, as to how I learned…" he smiled at the teen, "Iruka sensei asked Ebisu-san to show me how after I kept pestering him. The secret is to relax and focus on the tree until you can automatically sense how much chakra to focus into your feet."

Sasuke looked at the blonde, and then shook his head, "The seals are, in order, Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger."

He looked at the tree, "Bit of advice, try to take as deep a breath you can."

Naruto nodded, and then walked past, ignoring a fuming Sakura.

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Naruto, knowing full well that there were little odds of Zabuza being up and about anytime soon, decided to practice some of the jutsus, leaving several Kage-bunshin to watch Tazuna and help with the construction of the bridge. The blonde was, in actuality, practicing in the woods near the bridge, a mere shunshin away.

Now, if I could only find that damn scroll again I could find out how to perform the Hiraishin. he muttered.

** Your father prided himself for developing that technique, so I'm sure he left a record of it somewhere in the village. **Kyuubi replied softly.

**In the meantime, focus on the techniques you DO have, and try to learn to walk on water. **

Naruto frowned, Like the brow-less macaque? Why? 

** Walking on trees is nowhere near as complicated as water walking. **the fox explained, **The chakra control required is in a league of it's own. **

Naruto nodded, and then proceeded to the bridge to practice on the water there.

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Sakura and Sasuke had just returned from their training when Tazuna and Naruto walked in, Tazuna with groceries, Naruto with what appeared to be wild mushrooms.

"What are those for?" Tsunami asked, eyeing the fungi critically, Naruto smiled at the woman.

"I figured we can fry them up and add them to the menu, there's plenty to go around."

Eyeing the look on her face he smiled reassuringly "Don't worry, I checked, they're safe."

Sakura snorted, "How'd you do that? Try one yourself?"

"Actually, I slipped one into your sandwich this morning," Naruto said, pretending to ignore the look of horror on her face "since your obviously still alive, I figure they're safe to eat."

Sakura seemed to swell with rage and opened her mouth to scream when a mushroom flew in, almost choking her as she swallowed it out of reflex.

"See? You actually seem to like them.".

He handed the bunch to Tsunami, "And there's like a whole field of them out there, so we could do worse for food."

Sasuke, smirking at the antics of his teammates, turned to the blonde, "So, how were things at the bridge?"

"Not bad, but it's a good thing I was there, Tazuna's men seem to be dropping like flies, just packing in out of fear."

He shook his head, pulling out his book, "If I hadn't created those Kage-bunshins we'd have had to come back earlier."

Sasuke nodded, and then went to check on Kakashi, whilst Sakura was trying not to choke on her own vomit.

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Naruto lay down in the forest, mentally exhausted and trying to relax, he'd been up before dawn practicing his techniques, and now was resting in the shade of the forest.

He stiffened as he sensed someone coming towards him, a female by the sound of her footsteps.

"Can I help you miss?" he asked, sitting up and cracking an eye open, before being struck dumb.

Now Naruto would be the first to admit, that in Konoha he hadn't bothered to look at girls, Sasuke's groupies having set his opinionof the species at an incredibly low level since he'd started at the academy.

But Naruto was male, and there are several things a man cannot ignore…except possibly Sasuke, who had girls throwing themselves at him on a daily basis, and compared to the vision in front of Naruto now, the hordes of Konoha groupies the Uchiha dealt with were as plain as cotton.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could help me find some herbs." The girl replied, smiling, "They're pretty effective but hard to find in these woods."

Naruto nodded, mentally forcing himself to maintain eye contact, as Iruka had taught him, despite the oh so tempting view the girl's Yukata provided.

"Might as well, I'm not doing anything…"

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Naruto came home that evening, covered in leaves and feeling hungry, rubbing his cheek. He hadn't been expecting the girl to kiss his cheek!

** It was just a thank you, there's no need to be upset. **Kyuubi said, seeming amused at his plight, **Surely you didn't believe all girls to be like Sakura? **

Actually, from my limited experience of them…yes. 

As Kyuubi sighed, shaking his head behind the bars of the cage, Naruto walked through the door to be greeted by a cry of "YOU'RE LATE!"

Naruto sighed, rubbing his ear, 'Why do I put up with her?'

"I took a nap after training, guess I pushed to hard." the blonde muttered, walking up to the table, he pulled a chair from the table, looking over at Tazuna.

"I trust the clones I sent were helpful?"

The old man nodded, "Indeed, I hope I'm not asking too much of you."

Naruto waved him off and looked over at Tsunami, who was bringing in dinner.

Inari glared daggers at the blonde, who didn't seem to notice, until the child finally snapped.

"Why do you wear yourself out trying?! No matter how hard you train you'll never be a match for Gato's thugs!"

Tears were streaming down his face, "You act cool and talk tough, but Gato's guys are serious! They'll destroy you!"

Everyone stared at the boy, shocked at the outburst, everyone but Naruto, who looked almost bored.

"Your point?" he asked, frowning slightly in irritation.

"Just watching you ticks me off!" Inari yelled, "You run your mouth off when you don't know a thing! This isn't your town!" he sobbed, "You're always clowning around, you've no idea what suffering or loneliness are, or what my life's been like!"

Naruto twitched, and suddenly Kakashi, who was sitting next to him, felt the air around him fill with barely restrained anger.

'Oh….fuck.' the jounin thought, 'The kid should NOT have said that…'

"So…" Naruto said, not lifting his head, bangs covering his eyes, "you figure it's noble to star in a melodrama, treating everyone around you like guests at your pity party?"

He lifted his head and the pure rage his eyes held nailed poor Inari, and even his team-mates, to their chairs.

"I suppose that to you it takes a really big man to sit around and cry…you big baby!"

With that Naruto stood up, sending one last glare at the boy over his shoulder, "People like you make me sick." He muttered, marching out the door.

Sasuke stared after him, shivering from feeling the suppressed killing intent Naruto had given off.

'I've never seen him that pissed of before.' The Uchiha thought.

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Inari stared out to sea, still shaken up from his yelling match with Naruto.

"May I join you?" Kakashi asked, looking down at him, when the boy didn't reply, the jounin sat.

"It must have been hard, growing up without your father." Kakashi muttered.

'I can relate.' He thought, smiling sadly.

"But you were wrong about Naruto, he does know the feeling, even more so, He spent the first few years of his life without any parents."

Inari jumped, looking up in wonder, Kakashi sighed, "He never even had a single friend, not one person to share his dreams with. When I first met him, he was living in a cheap apartment, alone; with barely any food or comforts…he would have been your age at the time."

Inari looked horrified at the thought, but Kakashi continued, "It was only after he found this out that the Hokage assigned him to a caretaker, but some wounds run deep, and no amount of care can heal a wound that's existed since birth, Naruto will carry those scars 'till he dies."

Kakashi smiled, "So that's why he blew up at you, he can't stand to see you pitying yourself."

Inari stared at him and he chuckled, "You've gotten under his skin, he won't rest until he's set you right."

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Naruto cursed as he pulled his clothes on.

Why didn't you wake me?! he yelled mentally.

** Your mental energies needed time to recover, I wasn't about to interfere with your body more than I have to. **

Naruto snarled and pulled his coat on, stiffening at the sound of the door breaking.

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The two Samurai glared at Tsunami and Inari, "We only need one hostage, so come with us or we carve the kid up."

Tsunami hugged Inari tighter, trying to protect him, when the scarred one stepped forward, only to stiffen, before falling over, several Shuriken lodged in his spine.

"It would appear you have a pest problem, Tsunami." Naruto stated, stepping over the corpse of the other thug. He pulled his Shuriken out, wiping them down to prevent rust, "Guess it was fortunate I over-slept."

Tsunami, too shocked to speak, stared at the corpses, before Naruto sighed.

"There's an old saying: A warrior that wields a weapon, should expect to die by one."

Naruto rolled the corpses out the door, and into the water, "And they were going to use you as a hostage, this way they don't get the chance to repeat the act later."

He looked at her, "Board yourself in and try to find a weapon, barricade the door if you feel the need, but don't let anyone in until we get back."

He looked down at Inari, who was scared stiff, sighed, then pulled out a Kunai. "Yo, Inari?"

When the boy looked at him, Naruto kneeled down until they were almost eye-to-eye. Taking the boy's hand, he placed the Kunai in it.

"Until you're grandfather gets back, you're the man of the house, it's your responsibility to protect your mother." he said, slowly gripping the boy's hand.

Inari's eyes widened as Naruto placed his free hand on his shoulder, "And men don't cry when there's work to be done, the only time it's right to cry…"

He smiled at the boy, "is when your happy."

Inari stared as the blonde ninja made a one-handed seal and promptly teleported away in a swirl of leaves. He stared at the Kunai in his hand and his face set in resolve.

Tsunami stared as her son stood, straight backed, as when Kaiza had been alive, and silently thanked the ninja.

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Sasuke tried to catch his breath, the masked Nin's Ice mirrors were slowly chipping away at him; at this rate, he'd be hacked to pieces, even with the Sharingan to help.

Kakashi and Zabuza were watching each other for the slightest movement, a pair of circling wolves, whilst Tazuna and Sakura could only watch in dread.

Sakura was about to interfere when there was a roar, and a pillar of water shot up beside the bridge, instantly destroying the thick mist.

Kakashi and Zabuza stared in shock as a dragon formed out of the water and slammed into half of the mirrors, almost nailing Haku, who slid along the ground.

'That was my Suiryuudan technique!' Zabuza thought, 'But I've been watching Kakashi like a hawk! He hasn't moved an inch!'

'Where the hell did that come from?!' Kakashi thought, 'Have the real hunter-nins from Kirigakure finally caught up with Zabuza?'

Suddenly, something flickered into existence near Sasuke, something with Yellow hair and blue eyes.

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"Sorry if I soaked you Sasuke," Naruto said, offering a hand to lift the teen up "but I figured I might as well introduce myself with a bang."

Sasuke snorted and ignored the hand, pushing himself up to his feet, "That what you exhausted yourself trying to learn?"

"Maybe." Naruto replied, smirking, "I'd have targeted all the mirrors, but I'd have hit you as well."

Haku stood, staring at the two, 'that boy used the Suiryuudan technique…but that's impossible, Kakashi couldn't have taught it to him in such a short space of time.'

"Hey, brow-less wonder," Naruto called out, "pretty cowardly sending those rent-a thug samurai to snag a hostage."

The smirked, "Or is the demon of the mist really a coward that hides behind human shields?"

Zabuza stared at the boy in confusion, "What hostage? What samurai? I've no idea what you're on about, brat."

Naruto frowned, "Tazuna's daughter and her son, if I hadn't been there they'd have-".

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Haku cut in, stepping between the blonde and her master.

"Though Zabuza-sama proudly carries the title of 'demon', he would never resort to using civilians as a shield."

She shook her head, "Such behaviour is not befitting for one of the seven legendary swordsmen of Kirigakure."

Naruto raised his eyebrow, looking over at the Zanbato wielding shinobi, "Didn't take you for the honourable type, trying to kill Tazuna and all…" he shook his head, "Regardless, if those thugs weren't yours, then Gato's planning something behind your back, and if he could simply take Tsunami hostage…what would he need of you?"

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Zabuza scowled, thinking it over, 'I wouldn't put it past that worm Gato to grab himself a human shield…and he did have a couple of samurai wanna-bees at his heels…'

"My Zabuza, don't you seem to be outnumbered?"

Everyone spun, staring at the end of the bridge at the horde of ronin standing there. Gato, smirking, his left hand still in a cast, tapped his caner on the ground.

"Gato." Zabuza growled, "What are you doing here…"

He glared at the ronin army behind the man, "and why'd you bring all of them?!"

The businessman chuckled, "A slight change of plans Zabuza, or a change in yours anyway."

He gestured over his shoulder, "You all die here 'demon', all of you."

Gato smiled snidely, "Hiring Shinobi is such an expensive business, especially from one of the main villages, who tend to object when I kill them after the work is done. However, nukenin, renegades such as yourself, are so much easier to dispose of, since the village won't really care what happens to you once the deed is done."

He pushed his glasses up on his face, "A brilliant business stratagem-efficient and inexpensive; my two favourite words."

Zabuza's eyes widened with rage, 'That bastard! He never intended to pay me at all!'

Gato grinned at the swordsman and smirked, "My one mistake was hiring you in the first place, 'The demon of the mist'…what a crock!" he smirked at him, "You're no demon, more like a baby demon if anything!"

Zabuza trembled with Rage, the killing intent coming off him in waves, "…Kakashi?" he growled, getting the nins attention, "I trust you'll forgive me for cancelling our little fight?"

He looked over at the bridge builder, "I no longer have any reason to assassinate Tazuna…which settles our differences."

Kakashi nodded, "So it would appear."

He turned to the army of Ronin, "I suppose you're not going to run from that?"

Zabuza smirked, grabbing the Kubikiri Houcho's handle, "You know what shinobi think of those that try to break a contract." He said, eyeing the group of ronin.

"Besides…he's my enemy now too."

Kakashi smirked, Sharingan spinning, 'Trust Naruto to turn an enemy into an ally.'

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Naruto turned to Haku and smiled, "your boss seems to have changed his mind, you care to back us up, or should I leave you and Sasuke to your little dance?"

Haku tilted her head, face hidden behind the slashed mask, "Zabuza-sama's enemies are my enemies."

Naruto smirked, before turning to Sasuke, "Finally unlocked the Sharingan eh?"

He nodded towards the Ronin, "How do you like your ronin? Char-broiled or grilled?" he asked.

Sasuke smirked, and the two began making seals simultaneously.

'Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger'.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

Twin Fireballs shot forwards, incinerating the front lines of Ronin, leaving nothing but charred husks.

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Kakashi chuckled, "Doesn't seem right for our boy's to have all the fun." The copy-nin said, Zabuza smirked, and the two began also started the seals.

'Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Ninth, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Hare, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Rat, Ram, Bird.'

"Suiton: Suiryuudan!" the two Nin's cried out, summoning two water dragons that launched themselves at the already shaken army of ronin.

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Sakura and Tazuna stared at this interesting wrinkle, one minute Zabuza was threatening them, he and Kakashi at each others throats, the next he was fighting side by side with Kakashi, against his former employer no less!

"This was rather unexpected."

Sakura jumped as the masked nin stepped out of the ice mirror that had formed behind them, "I trust you could use some assistance guarding Tazuna?"

Noticing the pairs nervousness, the nin bowed.

"If Zabuza no longer has a quarrel with you, Tazuna-san, then neither do I."

The two relaxed, somewhat, though Sakura did keep herself between Tazuna and the 'boy', just in case.

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Gato hid at the very rear of the mob, gnashing his teeth, 'Damn it! I never thought Zabuza'd actually tag team with those guys!" he looked towards the boat, 'at this rate, the only thing I can do is run!'

Kakashi saw that the billionaire was about to make a dash for the boat and grunted, cutting his thumb with a kunai. Spreading his blood on a scroll, the silver haired Jounin began to make seals.

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Naruto, his Kyugan hidden by the genjutsu, noticed this and frowned. What's with the scroll? 

** A summoning contract, he's going to use his summoning in a jutsu. **the fox shifted in interest; **I wonder which contract he has? **

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Kakashi frowned, 'Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Dog'; he slammed his hands into the ground.

"Doton: Tsuiga no jutsu!"

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Gato was about to move when suddenly the ground beneath him erupted and eight dogs latched themselves onto him, effectively holding him and, from the size of the bulldog, crippling his shoulder, but this was no-where near as painful as the pug that had latched onto his crotch; he screamed.

"ARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

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Kakashi sweatdropped, 'I hope Pakkun didn't intend to do that' the jounin thought, as Zabuza winced. The copy-nin readied himself for another jutsu.

'Ox, Hare, Monkey.' He grabbed his right hand, and held it towards the ground as the chakra and electricity began to pour off it.

"Raikiri!"

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Sasuke spun round, staring in shock at the sheer amount of power that the jutsu was giving off, cursing at having missed its seals, whilst Naruto grinned.

'That's another technique I've mastered, seems Kakashi is good for something.'

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Sakura and Haku were staring in horror at the jounin's hand, 'The chakra is actually visible!' Haku thought, 'Zabuza-sama wished to fight this man?'

'Kakashi-sensei did that?!' Sakura wondered, 'I've never heard of that technique!'

Zabuza in the meantime was smirking, "The legendary 'lightning edge', your sole original technique…" he chuckled, "I'm honoured to see it."

Kakashi smirked, "Hope you don't mind if I use it to end this."

He charged forwards, the Raikiri tearing through the air, the chorus of a thousand birds in its wake, followed by the demon of the mist.

The army of ronin moved to block the jounin, only to be torn asunder as Zabuza's Kubikiri Houcho slammed into them, having been hurled by the Nin, effectively clearing a path for Kakashi. As they attempted to close in on the two, Sasuke's Fireball deep-fried another, and several kunai wielding Kage bunshin mobbed any that avoided it.

Gato didn't have time to scream before the Raikiri ripped through his chest like a lightning bolt, the dogs vanishing upon impact.

"You lose." Zabuza hissed into the man's ear from behind, as Kakashi pulled his hand out of the man's chest, "When you get to hell," the swordsman muttered, raising his Zanbato high, "give my regards to the real demons!"

Gato's head sailed off his shoulders and landed in front of his surviving men, whilst the body fell into the ocean.

Zabuza and Kakashi glared at the ronin, eyes narrowed, "Anyone else?"

The ronin survivors got the message, and practically threw themselves off the bridge in order to escape the shinobi they'd come to kill.

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The next day, every man woman and child showed in Wave country showed up to help finish the bridge, each doing what they could, whether it involved actually labour, or cooking meals for the workers. The children, played under the careful eye of Haku and Sakura, the two almost instantly bonding after Sakura discovered the masked Nin was actually a girl.

Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto and even Zabuza, were helping with the construction of the bridge. The sight of the ninjas actually working alongside them gave many people the idea that perhaps the wave country should start up its own academy.

Naruto looked over at Zabuza; the two were taking a break, grabbing a drink and watching the work.

"So what'll you do now?" he asked, "Go into hiding again?"

Zabuza frowned, his face wrappings removed due to the work, "No clue, not much point in staying here now, and the hunter-nins will certainly come looking for Haku and I."

Naruto nodded, drinking from a canteen, "You could come with us." He stated, smirking at the jounin's expression of shock, "Konoha isn't as harsh on its shinobi as Kirigakure, and they could always welcome another addition to the rank of jounin." He smiled, "Besides, Haku could really expand her medical skills there, Konoha's medical corps are the best around, and those with Kekkei Genkai, blood-limits, are openly praised, rather than scorned."

The demon of the mist closed his eyes in thought, 'It does sound more appealing than continuing to run from Hunter-nin…'

"…What the hell, sure."

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"Thanks to you our bridge has finally been completed, but it's going to be awfully dull around here once you leave."

Kakashi nodded, "Thank you for your hospitality." He said, smiling.

Zabuza merely nodded, whilst Haku, face still uncovered, bowed, "Please forgive our actions, it was nothing personal."

Tazuna shivered but smiled nervously at the two, "Hey, as one professional to another, how can I chide you for following a contract?"

Haku bowed again and Naruto walked over to Inari.

"Hey kid, remember, you have to be a big man for your mother now, got it?" when the boy nodded he patted him on the head, "So no more crying, 'kay?"

Inari nodded again, then to the surprise of Naruto, latched onto the blonde genin.

"Come back soon Naruto-nisan!" he cried, hiding his head in the blonde's coat.

Naruto stiffened, and then hugged the boy, "Count on it, and hold onto that kunai for me."

As the six walked off, Tazuna stared in wonder at them, "That boy strengthened little Inari's heart, united the people of the wave for the first time since Kaiza's death, and even turned the demon of the mist into an ally."

He smiled, "Naruto built the bridge that carried us all to hope and courage."

He grinned at Tsunami and Giichi, "Speaking of bridges, we still have to officially dedicate this one."

The two smiled knowingly, "I can think of only one name that could suffice." Giichi said, grinning.

Inari looked up, and smirked, "How about… 'The great Naruto Bridge'?"

Tsunami looked down at her son and smiled, "It's a nice name."

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On the road back to Konoha, Haku looked at Naruto, who was reading from his book.

"What exactly is that book called?" she asked, seeing as the title was faded.

"Hmm? This?" he held up the book, "It's called 'Famous shinobi throughout history and their achievements, volume one', and I'm currently reading up on the ninja called 'Konoha's white fang'."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the reference to his father's title, before Sakura's shriek caused everyone to wince.

"I spent forever trying to find out what that book is and you used to just brush me off! How come you tell her right off the bat?!'

"Because it's rude to ignore a lady's question." Naruto replied, turning the page of his book.

Sakura swelled in rage, "THEN WHY DID YOU IGNORE MINE?!"

Naruto looked over his shoulder at her, "You say something? I couldn't hear over the noise."

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Whilst Sakura sputtered in outrage, the two adults in the group chuckled.

"I really like that kid." Zabuza chuckled, "by the way, you mind if we stop by a bookstore before we go to the Hokage's?"

When Kakashi looked at him he explained, "I left my copy of Icha-Icha paradise behind in Kirigakure, and I haven't read the book since Kami-knows when."

Kakashi's eye widened in horror at the thought, 'No-one should have to go through such trauma!'

"Let's pick up the pace people! We need to get back to Konoha as soon as possible!"

The Chunin exams are next, please send your opinions in!

Note: Main pairing will most definitely be NaruHina, so no flames.

If you have any requests for a fic with another pairing, please send me one via reviews.

WARNING! No NaruSaku or NaruSasu pairings!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven.

It had been several weeks since the mission to wave country and Konoha was still reeling form the after-effects.

The Hokage had nearly suffered a hernia from the sheer amount of paperwork required to instate Momochi Zabuza and his ward as Shinobi of Konohagakure; however, he insisted that Haku be listed as a genin, to give her time to settle in.

Zabuza's acceptance into the rank of jounin went down with few questions, though most of the elite chose to steer clear of the swordsmen, except one Maito Gai, who openly, almost TOO openly, welcomed the 'demon' with tears in his eyes and cries of 'flaming youth'. Zabuza made a mental note to avoid the man like the plague.

Haku was accepted into the ranks of genin with little problems, and was happily placed under the tutelage of the Konoha medical corps, Zabuza actually found a hobby in the form of fidning creative new ways of scaring away would-be suitors.

Sasuke went back to his silent brooding, as well as constantly avoiding the hordes of fan-girls that chased him throughout the village.

And Naruto?

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Iruka sighed as he found the blonde curled up in a chair, reading from the book.

"Naruto, I know your team hasn't had many missions lately, but that's no excuse for slacking off." He said as he walked towards the door, on his way to the academy.

Naruto, marking his page, smiled at his guardian, "I was just about to head out to train, have a good day at the academy, Iruka-san."

The scarred Chunin smiled and closed the door.

When Naruto was sure his guardian was gone, he put the book away and promptly used shunshin no jutsu to teleport to the set meeting place for team seven, appearing behind Sakura, as she tried to catch Sasuke's attention.

"Morning Sasuke." The blonde greeted, pulling out his book, as the kunoichi shrieked and spun round, "Hey Haruno."

Sakura sniffed, she'd tried constantly to get the blonde to use her first name, since it made her sound old when he used her surname, but he pointedly ignored her.

"And where have you been?" she asked, miffed that he'd snuck up on her. Naruto merely shrugged and turned the page in his book, which Sasuke realised was the second in the series from the spine.

"I see you finished the first one." He commented.

Naruto looked at him and nodded, "If you'd like, I could lend it to you."

The raven-haired teen nodded, "Maybe later."

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Three hours later.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi said cheerfully, "I got lost on the way here."

"LIAR!" Sakura shrieked, only to have a pebble thrown at her forehead.

"Sorry, saw a wasp there, guess I got it." Naruto muttered, putting his book away.

"I guess it's too much to expect a mission like last time so soon eh?" he asked, looking at the jounin.

Kakashi smirked, "I'm afraid not… we're back to looking for Tora again."

The trio groaned, wondering whether to kill the cat and say it was mauled by one of the Inuzuka's mutts.

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The mission completed, Naruto, eyes back in his book, was walking along, ignoring Sasuke and Sakura, or rather just Sakura, when Kakashi stopped, looking interested.

"That's it for today; I have to hand in my mission report."

Naruto nodded, reading, whilst Sasuke said he'd head home, Sakura tailing after him.

For the love of Kami, you'd think she'd have gotten the message by now! Naruto hissed, causing Kyuubi to chuckle.

** Ah, spring fever…the vixens would be in their prime now… **

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"Sasuke!" Sakura called out, "I…I was wondering if…if we, you know…" she flushed, holding her hands together, "you and I…" she batted her eyes, "just the two of us…could work on our, um 'teamwork'?" she finished, hinting at the latter part.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, disgusted.

"You're pathetic." He said, causing Sakura to flinch, "Why waste your time flirting when you should be training?"

Inner Sakura was trying her best to hold up a boulder, whilst Sakura looked depressed.

"Naruto's skills far surpass yours; I'd rather spar with him any day."

Leaving the kunoichi sufficiently crushed, the Uchiha marched of towards his house in the Uchiha district.

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Naruto snickered, watching the snow cloud that formed over the girl's head, 'maybe that'll make her wise up.' He muttered, before noticing the 'rock' coming towards him.

"Konohamaru…you're disguises are getting worse." he didn't take his eye's off his book.

"No rock is perfectly symmetrical, nor does it have eyeholes," he sighed, turning the page, "besides, we're in the middle of the village, I doubt people would leave a rock that size in the middle of the road."

The Konohamaru corps climbed out form under the 'rock', and Konohamaru, strutting like a general, promptly demanded that Naruto played ninja with them.

Naruto sighed, 'playing Ninja' basically meant that the Hokage's grandson wanted to learn something, but was too impatient to go to Ebisu, or actually study, so he'd taught him how to pull off Oroike no jutsu, the first original technique he'd developed.

He snickered, the Hokage's grandson had told him that the old man had added the jutsu to the list of Kinjutsu, no doubt out of embarrassment.

"Fine, what do you want to see?"

"Kage-bunshin!" Moegi called out, "Teach us Kage-bunshin!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you? I'll only teach you that if and when you graduate."

He smiled, "Besides, that's a jounin level technique; the chakra requirements might kill you."

The girl shivered, looking upset, so Naruto smiled, "Shall I teach you one of Kakashi sensei's techniques?" he said, and smiling at the look on their faces.

"It doesn't cost any chakra to use either, I saw him use it on some jounin with freaky eyebrows."

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Across town, Maito Gai sneezed, before launching into a tirade concerning the 'flames of youth warding away colds'.

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Sakura, looking at the blonde genin, "A technique that cost's no chakra and took down a jounin?" she snorted, "Yeah right!"

Naruto looked over at her, "You mind? The light reflecting off your forehead is distracting me."

Sakura charged forwards, intending to flatten the teen, only for him to vanish.

'Where-' she began when a noise interrupted her.

"Konohagakure's secret, most sacred technique: Sennen Goroshi!"

Sakura screeched, holding her rear as she was launched into the air as a result of one of the most humiliating, not to mention painful, ninja techniques in history.

Naruto, smirking, looked at the stunned Konohamaru corps, "And you could do that with a kunai too."

He watched as Sakura's trajectory took her over a wall, and from the sound of things, landed on someone.

"Oops, maybe I put too much into that one…"

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Sakura pulled herself off whatever she landed on, muttering angrily, 'Damn Naruto when I get a hold of him I'll-!"

"HEY!" a voice yelled, "What do you think I am? A cushion?!"

Sakura squeaked and moved back, allowing a black clothed boy with face paint to stand up. He scowled at her, "Who do you think you are, jumping on me like that?!"

The blonde Kunoichi next to him sighed, "Let it go Kankuro, it's not worth it."

"The hell it isn't! She nearly threw my back out!" he reached out to grab the pink haired genin.

"Hey, you two," the strangers looked over to see Naruto leaning against the tree, reading his book.

"You see something pink land around here, around yea tall," he gestured with his hand, "Presumably female and with a forehead to rival those on the monument?"

Sakura seethed at the blonde, whilst the strange kunoichi chuckled, "You mean her?" she said, gesturing with her thumb.

Naruto looked up, "Ah, there you are." He nodded towards the two, "Sorry if her landing disturbed you two, merely giving a demonstration to my friends there." He nodded in the direction of the Konohamaru corps.

Kankuro seethed, "You threw her on me? I'll kill you both!" he screamed, charging forwards, until a pebble hit him in the forehead.

Naruto chuckled, "Sasuke, I thought you'd gone home to train?" he asked, not looking up from his book.

The Uchiha smirked, "Thought I'd ask you to spar, so I came back." He looked at the two Nins, "Tell me," he asked, "what are you guys doing in our village?"

Kankuro growled rubbing his head, 'They're popping out of the woodwork!'

"Come on down little squirrel!" he called out, reaching for the bundle on his back.

Naruto looked up, wondering what the bundle was, before sighing, "If you're going to attack, answer one thing."

The pair looked at him, as he pointed up at the tree. "Is the ghoul behind Sasuke with you?"

"I am…unfortunately."

Sasuke spun and spied the red haired boy almost immediately, the gourd on his back and 'AI' tattoo standing out.

'His stealth skills rival Kakashi's!' he thought in wonder.

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"Kankuro, it's annoying that you'd blow your top due to a quarrel with children. Have you forgotten why we're here?"

Kankuro shook, afraid, "It's her fault!" he yelled, pointing at Sakura, "That pink haired one slammed me!"

"Shut up." Gaara muttered, "Or I'll kill you."

Whilst the two strangers shook, Gaara eyed the two Leaf shinobi he'd noticed.

'This one stopped Kankuro with a stone, and the other detected me… That took skill.'

He used shunshin to appear between his comrades, "We may be a little early…but we didn't come here to play around." Ignoring Kankuro's stuttered assurance that it wouldn't happen again, he turned on his heel, "Let's go."

"Hold up." Naruto stated, "From the looks of your Hitai-ate headbands, you three are from Sunagakure, the village hidden in the sand…correct?"

Gaara looked at him, "Yes?"

Sakura looked up, "But under the treaty between all Shinobi nations, you can't cross our border without authorization!"

The blonde kunoichi snorted, holding up a travel pass. "We're here for the Chunin exams, you know, the exams that genin take to advance to Chunin? It's being held in your village this year."

The trio's eyes widened, before Sasuke used shunshin to appear in front of the kids. "You there…what's your name?"

Temari flushed, "Who…me?"

"No. The ghoul behind you."

The 'ghoul's' teammates flinched at the title, whilst Gaara looked at the Uchiha.

"Sabaku no Gaara…at your service."

He looked at the blonde and raven shinobi in front of him, "And you two?"

Sasuke smirked, "Uchiha Sasuke.".

Naruto nodded, putting his book away, "Uzumaki Naruto, genin of Konohagakure."

Gaara nodded, then turned around, "Let's go." He said to the other two, and they used Shunshin to teleport away.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, "Seems we're in for interesting times." he stated, the Uchiha nodded, frowning. Naruto sighed and shook his head, "Now…what were you saying about a spar earlier?"

The raven-haired boy blinked, before grinning, "Field seven?"

"See you there." Naruto replied, using Shunshin to teleport there, followed by Sasuke.

Sakura wondered why SHE was left babysitting, when she discovered she was alone, the Konohamaru corps having dashed to get to field seven, their leader not wanting to watch his 'Oyabun' fight.

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"This is a joke…right?" Naruto asked Kakashi, staring at the applications forms in the jounin's hand, "You actually recommended us for the Chunin exams?"

The jounin nodded, "If any of you don't wish to compete, the exam is voluntary, the choice to enter is yours."

He turned around, "If you wish to apply, report to room 301 at the school by 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. That's all."

He then used Shunshin to vanish in a swirl of leaves.

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Reaching the academy the next day, Naruto raised his eye at the sheer amount of leaf shinobi present. 'Not all of them are teenagers, some look like they're Iruka-san's age.' He shrugged, 'guess the exam is pretty tough.'

Looking over at Sakura and Sasuke he nodded, "Shall we?"

The trio made it up the steps until a commotion on the second floor caused them to pause.

Naruto frowned, "Why the hell are you jackasses blocking the way? We're still on the second floor, so move it or lose it!"

The two 'genin' behind the illusion, angered that their fun was over, launched an attack, only to be blocked by a genin in a green leotard, one that they'd been wailing on earlier.

Naruto gazed at the boy, 'seems there may be some worthwhile contenders yet.'

Looking at the boy, he nodded, "Thanks for the save, though you needn't have bothered." He noticed that the boy was currently talking to Sakura, '…the hell?'

He rolled his eyes as Sakura blew the guy off.

'Guy's got bad taste in women.' Naruto muttered, turning on his heel, coat flapping from the movement.

He frowned, 'Where have I seen that hairdo before?'

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'I don't believe this…' Naruto thought, as the image of Gai and Lee hugging was seared into his brain.

'Why in the name of all that's holy would they allow that…THING to reproduce?!' he mentally screeched, staring at the two.

** Their scents aren't compatible, kit, they aren't related. **

Naruto shivered, No offence, Oni-san, but I think the seals starting to affect your senses... 

He shook himself, "Touching as this little scene is, you mind if my team-mates and I get going? We have an exam to take part in."

Gai looked at him and raised a fist in the air, "AH! The eagerness of youth! Your determination is a sign that your youthful flames are burning bright!"

'The only thing that'll be burning around here is you if you keep saying all that in front of Sasuke.' Naruto chuckled, watching the Uchiha twitch at being defeated by a 'touchy-feely crybaby'.

Naruto snorted, "Oh yeah, their burning all right, in fact, let's not let them dissipate by wasting time here!" With that, he turned on his heels and walked away, his teammates following him.

"I swear, not only does that kid need a wake-up call, he also needs glasses." Naruto muttered, "I mean, having a crush on forehead here?" he sighed, "Talk about scraping the barrel."

Sakura's fist shot out, only to collide with their Jounin-sensei's gut, as he appeared around the corner.

"Somehow…" Naruto sighed, rolling his eyes behind his book, as the Jounin pulled himself up, "I doubt he's going to forget that come our next mission."

Ignoring the girl's stammering attempts at an apology, the Jounin gestured with his hand; he smiled "The exams are through here, good luck."

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"That's a lot of Shinobi." Naruto muttered, interested, 'And a shit-load of killing intent.'

He smirked, 'Nothing compared to Zabuza's though; I won't be hiding his porn again any time soon'. He snapped out of his musings as he noticed an incoming blonde projectile, "Sasuke," he muttered, getting the Uchiha's attention.

"Incoming groupie."

Sasuke's eye's widened; before he steeped back avoiding the girl.

"Sasuke-kun! Where've you been cutie?" She cried out, only for her to collide with a wall.

Naruto sighed and turned the page, "Friend of yours Haruno?"

Sakura laughed at the blonde as she picked herself up, "Ha! Nice aim Ino-buta!"

Ino spun and glared at Sakura, "Hello to you too Sakura," she sniffed, "Still hoping the big mutant forehead look's gonna come into fashion, eh?"

Before Sakura could reply, Naruto slapped a hand over her mouth, "I doubt it's ever going to do that, but maybe the girl that just left a face-print on the wall has no room to brag." He thumbed at the dent, "I hope you intend to fix that, the Sandaime's law against graffiti is pretty harsh y'know."

"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, walking up behind them, "Why don't you three just die instead of flunking the test?"

"Say's the sloth that never managed to write his name on a single paper." Naruto replied snidely, "What're you doing here Shikamaru? I thought you'd be studying the inside of your eyelids by now."

The Genin grunted, whilst Choji munched away on his chips.

Naruto sighed, "So Larry Curly and Moe decided to show up," he turned the page in his book, "Wonder if the second generation can live up to their parents' fame?"

Ino was about to reply when a loud voice cut in, announcing the arrival of team eight.

Kiba sneered, "Looks like the gang's all here."

Naruto smirked in reply, "Look Sasuke," he said, pointing with his thumb, "Its Akamaru and his pet, Kiba."

He smiled at the puppy, "Are you feeding him well enough Akamaru? His coat's lost its sheen."

He sniffed, "And I think he needs a flea-bath."

Whilst Sasuke chuckled at the blonde's joke, Kiba bristled.

"Shut the hell up Uzumaki!" he yelled, lunging forward "You got some rocks thinking you can insult me and get away with it!"

Naruto steeped back, and tripped the teen as he passed, "Bad dog."

As the boy stumbled, Naruto swept his feet out from under him, "sit."

"Bastard!" Kiba snarled and went to get up, until Naruto sat on his back, his foot holding down Akamaru.

"Play dead." the Genin muttered almost bored, his eyes still in the famous Ninja book.

Sasuke snorted, "If the shinobi thing doesn't work out…" he said, eyeing Naruto, "You could always become a professional dog breeder."

Naruto looked up at the other two members of Kurenai's cell and nodded, "Shino-san, can't you manage to keep this guy under control?"

He scratched Kiba behind the ear, to a chorus of swear-words that caused Hinata to flush, "Have you tried using a muzzle on him?"

Shino shrugged, and Naruto nodded, "Ah yes, cruelty to animals and all that."

He looked up at the Hyuuga heiress, "You okay, Hinata-san?" he asked, "You look a little flushed, you coming down with something?"

The Shy Hyuuga squeaked and hid behind her stoic teammate, causing Naruto to sweat-drop.

'Oooooo-kaaaaaay…'

"Would you guys do everyone a favour and just shut up?"

The rookie nine looked up to see a blue haired genin walk over to them, looking annoyed.

"A bunch of wet behind the ear rookies, fresh out of the academy? What do you think this is? A field trip?"

Naruto snorted, and got off Kiba, who shared the scowl the blonde was aiming at the older genin.

"And you'd be?" Naruto asked, putting his book away.

The teen snorted, "Kabuto, what's it to ya?" he sniffed, "You need to wake up and look around."

The group did so, instantly feeling the killing intent washing over them from the other teams. Hinata, Sakura and Shikamaru shivered, the Nara actually seeming to snap out of his 'too-lazy-to-live' daze.

"Those thugs are from Amagakure, the village hidden in the rain, which shares territory with the hidden mist village." He pushed up his glasses; "They've got fuses shorter than moth's lifespan, so quiet down before they decide to beat the crap out of you."

Sakura looked at him, "Kabuto, is this your second time entering the exam?"

"Seventh." The genin replied, "Twice a year for almost four years now."

He pulled out a deck of cards, "Though it has given me a wide database to study."

Naruto looked up interested, "Shinobi info cards?" he asked, "They show a person's status and other official information...right?" he noticed the group staring at him and shrugged, "Iruka-nichan uses them for our report cards." He explained.

Kabuto smirked, "Well mine are a little different, since they don't cover your grades, but rather, your shinobi talents and missions."

Sasuke stepped forward, "You got any information of Rock Lee from Konoha and Sabaku no Gaara?" he asked, to which Kabuto smirked, "You know their names already? That'll make it easier."

He pushed Chakra into the cards and read the details.

"Rock lee: A year older than you lot. Missions: 20 D-rank, 11 C-rank."

He read on, "Seems his speciality is Taijutsu, only base ninjutsu at best. He's a first time contender. Team-mates: Hyuuga Neji and Tenten."

He looked at the other card and frowned.

"Sabaku no Gaara: 8 C-ranks and a B-rank." He whistled, "That's impressive, not many genins get B-rank assignments." He continued, "Since he's from Sunagakure, I've got next to no info on him, other than that he returned from every mission unscathed." He looked at the Uchiha, "Without a scratch."

The rookies gulped, including Naruto, 'Even I get battered around a bit on missions.' he muttered, 'especially that mission to wave country.'

"Every hidden village has sent its teams here to be tested, even Otogakure, but they're a recently formed nation, and thus not as influential as the others."

Naruto sensed a subtle change in the rooms killing intent, and snorted, 'And the idiot tells us to watch our mouths?' he shook his head.

"It doesn't matter anyway."

The others looked at him and he grinned, confidently, "Genin, Chunin, Jounin...I'll beat anyone that stands in my way."

As expected, the killing intent in the room swung towards the blonde genin, causing his fellow rookies to question his sanity. That is, until he let of a wave of killing intent so severe even Gaara's eyes widened in shock.

'Take that bitches, never fuck around with someone on their home turf'.

The sheer amount of killing intent actually stopped the Otonin team in their tracks, stunned. They had been about to bushwhack Kabuto for his slight of their village, but they didn't dare get near whoever was radiating that much killing intent.

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Fortunately, Morino Ibiki decided to interrupt with a…tactful approach.

"SHUT UP YOU LOUSY BASTARDS!"

Naruto smirked at the reference, "That's us alright, at least you're direct." He chirped cheerfully, causing a few of the assembled proctors to smirk.

"A smart ass huh?" Ibiki said, smirking, "we'll see how smart you are on the test, get in your seat, I'll hand the papers out soon."

Naruto froze, his blood actually freezing, 'O sweet mother of Shodai Hokage…not a PAPER TEST!!!'

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Naruto, for all his bluffs and field experience, for all his sarcastic jabs and barbs, wasn't known as the dead last at the academy for nothing; he sucked on all things theory test related.

He listened as the scarred jounin proctor explained the rules and scowled.

'Fucking sadist!' he muttered, 'It's like they set this exam up to MAKE me fail!'

He cursed again when he saw the exam itself, 'Oh cart wheeling kitsunes I'm a goner.'

He looked around, everyone else had started, and he noticed Akamaru barking at Kiba, no doubt telling him the answers.

Hey Ni-san…a little help? Naruto asked, and then was shocked by the foxes reply.

** Sorry kit, but you have to figure this exam out by yourself, remember, look for the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings. **

Naruto sweatdropped, 'Since when did Ni-san become like Kakashi-sensei?' he muttered.

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Halfway into the exam and Naruto was a wreck, he'd wracked his brain on every question and still couldn't answer one.

'I swear to god if I meet this guy after the exam I'm gonna Sennen Goroshi him with a friggin Zanbato!' he muttered, glaring at Ibiki.

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The Jounin commander shivered at the level of killing intent he felt directed at him.

'What the-?' he thought, looking around, 'seems some of the tykes are getting testy…' he chuckled at the pun.

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Naruto gripped his head, 'Dammit! Almost blew it there!'

He'd ceased glaring at Ibiki as the Jounin sensed his killing intent, 'I'd probably be kicked out for threatening a jounin!'

"Ano...Naruto-kun…"

Naruto looked over at the girl next to him, 'Hinata? Where the heck-?!' he shook himself.

'How in the name of Nidaime did I overlook her?'

Kyuubi shrugged, **She is the type most people overlook, the shy quiet types. **

The fox snickered; **Those types are usually moaners, God I love moaners. **

Naruto rolled his eyes, 'Ero-Kitsune'.

He turned to the Hyuuga. "What is it, Hinata-san?"

The shy Hyuuga flushed, "Ano…you can look at my paper…if you want…"

Naruto stared at the girl '…the fuck? What does she take me for? An Idiot?'

He frowned, "Why? What's in it for you if you help me?"

Hinata flinched and began twiddling her fingers, looking more nervous by the second, causing Naruto to sweat-drop.

'Oy, why are all girls so weird…'

"I…I don't want you…to have to leave so soon…Naruto-kun…"

Naruto's eye's widened, then smirked, "Hinata…nice as that sounds..."

His eyes flicked to Ibiki, "I can't take the risk, I'll wing it on the last question."

Hinata looked downtrodden, so Naruto smiled at her, "But it was nice of you to offer, I always lose my nerve on tests."

The Hyuuga's face went tomato red and she lowered it, hiding her eyes with her bangs.

'Now,' Naruto muttered, 'let's see what this last question is…'.

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"What kind of cowards do you take us for?!" Naruto roared, the force of his voice actually causing Ibiki's coat tails to flap.

"I don't know about the rest of these bastards, but I for one think those who just gave up were nothing but pussies!" he snorted, ignoring the looks of astonishment from everyone in the room.

Ibiki snorted, 'Kid's got more balls than most Jounin I've seen, talking to a proctor like that.'

"If you think you can intimidate me with your, 'never allowed to apply again' shit," Naruto paused for breath, "You're wasting your time! Do your worst scar face, ya don't scare me!"

Everyone in the room stared at the genin, several wondering if Ibiki was going to go all jounin on his ass, but the proctor merely smirked.

"Little man..." his smirk widened, "I am impressed, but are you really prepared to be a genin for the rest of your life?"

Naruto snorted, "Bring it on, mister proctor."

Ibiki snorted, amused, 'Screw jounin, this kids got more rocks than most ANBU!'

"For all those still present…" he paused for effect, watching the genin lean forwards, "You've just passed the first exam."

CRASH!

Everyone sweatdropped at the sight of Naruto's foot twitching in the air, having face-faulted right off his chair.

'Maybe not…' Ibiki muttered, 'A little too high strung.'

Well what d'ya think?

First part of the Chunin exams out of the way, next up: Anko!


	8. Chapter 8

A very big note of thanks to all those who reviewed so far!

Have a Merry Christmas and New years!

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Chapter eight

"Sadistic bastard." Naruto muttered, his gaze attempting to add to the holes in Ibiki's head as the proctor replaced his Hitai-ate headband, "Leading us on like that…"

At that minute, the window shattered and a large banner unfurled, revealing a woman.

"Don't celebrate just yet!" She called out, "I am the second examiner for the Chunin exams…Mitarashi Anko!"

She tilted her head, "Time's a wastin' people! Let's go!"

She raised a hand in the air, "Follow me!!!"

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All that followed this introduction was the sound of crickets chirping.

"…You have GOT to shitting me…" Naruto muttered, banging his head against the table, "Sweet mothers of all the Hokages…what in the world did I ever do to deserve this?"

Everyone looked at him as he scowled at the monument.

"This is for that graffiti job I did isn't it?" he growled, actually appearing to wait for an answer, before giving the monument the finger.

"And that goes triple for you scarface." He said, standing up.

Walking past the startled female jounin he paused at the door, "C'mon guys, let's get this freak show over with."

The rest of the genin filed past, ignoring the female jounin, much to her ire.

Ibiki snorted, 'Uzumaki Naruto…is a very intriguing young man.'

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After leaving the academy, Anko led them all to what appeared to be a fenced off forest.

"This is the arena for the second stage of the exam: Training ground 44…" she smirked, "otherwise known as the forest of death."

Naruto snorted, reading from his book, "Forest of death…fascinating…"

Anko glared at the blonde upstart that, in her opinion, ruined her grand entrance, and was possibly off kilter after his talking to the Hokage monument.

And when someone like Anko thinks you're mental, you'd have to be so far beyond sanity it's scary.

"You're all about to find out firsthand, why it's called that."

Some of the Genin looked nervous, but once again, Naruto threw one of his infinite monkey wrenches into the works.

"Pssh… after old scar face's routine, you think we're gonna be afraid of a few trees?"

Anko grinned and tossed a kunai at him, apparently slicing his cheek, only for the boy to tilt his head away.

"You mind, I'm trying to read here, I've just gotten to a good bit and…"

Something licked his cheek.

Naruto looked behind him to see Anko; another Kunai in hand, licking blood from his freshly cut cheek.

"You sound pretty confident, for a brat…" she murmured, looking over his shoulder, "so what're you reading, a fairy tale?"

The surrounding Genins snickered, until Naruto replied, "It's called 'Famous shinobi throughout history and their achievements, volume two', I'm currently reading up on the legendary Sennin, Orochimaru of the Sannin."

Anko froze at the name, before frowning, "And what's it got to say?" she asked, wondering who would write such a thing.

Naruto shrugged, "Doesn't cover much on his techniques, but from what I can make out, he must have been a freaking genius."

He snorted, "That, or the guy that wrote this was a brown-nosing little bitch that had a stalker crush on the guy."

Anko let out a laugh, wondering what her former sensei would say if he heard the boy.

'Probably beat the living hell out of him, and then go looking for the author of the book.'

Nearby, a grass Nin with long hair seemed to be rather amused at the antics of the blonde haired genin.

'Kukukuku…interesting…'

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Naruto stared at the heaven scroll in his hands, wondering what could possibly be inside the thing.

'With my luck, possibly another freaky proctor, waiting to bash my head in.' he snorted, then tossed the scroll to Sasuke.

"You up for this?"

The Uchiha smirked, "I should be asking you that, you looked ready to faint in the first Exam."

Naruto snorted, waving a fist, "I graduated thanks to my practical skills, having a big brain can only carry you so far."

He looked over at Sakura, "Take Haruno for example, we're gonna have to pick up he pace and any slack she leaves."

Sakura shrieked and attempted to beat the genin senseless, but he dodged and leapt onward through the trees.

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They landed in a deserted clearing. Sasuke then looked around, "Place certainly lives up to its name, if only by appearance."

Naruto nodded, "Maybe the 'Death' part has something to do with all the enemy Shinobi wandering around looking for us."

Sasuke frowned, "I doubt that, this place was sealed off, even from the shinobi residents here…something has to be in here."

Sakura scowled, as the two continued their discussion, completely ignoring her.

'Dammit, at the academy, Sasuke barely spoke two words to anyone.'

She glared at Naruto, 'Then this loudmouth shows up and suddenly it's as if he and Sasuke have been pals forever!'

"Haruno," Naruto said, "if you're going to stand there glaring at me like that, I MAY mistake you for an enemy in disguise."

Sakura, seeing a chance to catch the smart aleck off-guard, grinned.

"How do you know I'm not?" she asked snidely, only to dodge a Kunai thrown at her forehead.

"What the hell?! Why'd you do that?!"

Naruto sighed, "Darn, it is you…" he spat on the ground, "and I wanted to let off some steam."

Suddenly, his bowls sent a message to his brain, 'Time to clear the drains big guy!'

Turning to Sasuke he nodded, "Keep an eye, I gotta take a leak."

Sakura flushed scarlet, "Not in front of me you freak! I'm a lady!" she shrieked.

"That's debateable." Naruto muttered, dodging her fist, causing Sasuke to snort.

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At the Uchiha's noise, Sakura's world went black, 'Sasuke…agrees with him…?' she thought, growing smaller in the grey background.

'so…he doesn't think of me as a lady?'

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While all this was going on, Naruto was answering natures call, doing his best to give back to the…uh...environment.

"You know…Watching a guy pee is considered to be one of the most perverse things in human culture."

He said, casually, startling the rain nin that was sneaking up on him, before a tripwire was set of, a garrotte wire wrapping around the nin's neck, effectively snapping it with his own weight.

"And if there's one thing I hate…" Naruto muttered, pulling his zipper up, "It's perverts."

Searching the nin's corpse revealed another Heaven scroll that he stashed, just in case they lost their own, as well as several spare scrolls for storing items.

'Not a bad haul,' he snickered, 'who says giving back to nature doesn't reap its own rewards?'

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Walking back he dodged a kunai to the throat, before raising an eyebrow.

"Sasuke? What the hell?" he picked up the kunai, "Keep this up and I won't lend you that book."

Sasuke snorted, "That's you alright."

He looked around, "There are foreign Shinobi here, and we can't take any risks."

Naruto nodded, "I see…plus, knowing most of the Nin we saw…" he looked at Haruno, "they probably pegged us as the quickest way to snatch a scroll."

He smirked, pulling out the spare scroll he snagged, "Luckily for us, that idiot that tried to interrupt me back there was daft enough to not only come alone, but bring his team's scroll with him."

He sighed, "Unfortunately, it's another Heaven Scroll."

Sasuke snorted, "You hold onto that one, I'll keep ours."

Naruto nodded, then put the scroll away, "Remember how Iruka sensei taught us? About team passwords?"

Sasuke snorted, "Time to put the academy days to use huh?"

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"Remember the Ninki, that's the password." Sasuke finished, just before a massive gust of wind blew them apart.

The grass Nin chuckled, looking at his compatriots, "Stick around you two. It could be fun!" He grinned, "I'll go in alone!"

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Naruto muttered as he rubbed his noggin, 'Dammit, let my guard down…'

He froze sensing something coming, something BIG.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like what's behind me?" he muttered, before looking over his shoulder.

"Damn I hate being right." He muttered as a massive snake swallowed him whole.

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Sasuke pulled the Kunai out of his leg, glaring at the snake-like grass nin, 'If I hadn't stabbed myself…' he shivered, who is this guy?!'

"Kukukuku...using pain to combat fear...impressive."

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Naruto winced as he felt the slime drip inside the snakes gullet.

"Wonderful…I'm here five minutes and something tries to eat me…" he snorted in disgust.

"Hope you enjoyed the appetizer, here's the main course: Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

The snake seemed to swell up, a 'what the fu-?!', look on it's reptilian face, before it burst apart, revealing over a hundred disgusted looking Naruto clones.

Eyeing the snake, Naruto grinned, "Waste not want not!"

Using his clones to help out, Naruto began carving the snake up to use as food, storing the massive chunks in the storage scroll.

'Better grab some of the snake's venom too.' He muttered, 'Big ass snake like that…venom has to be a bitch to cure!'

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Sasuke dodged and wheeled, attempting to avoid the snake that was lunging at him, before making seals.

'Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger', he breathed in "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

Just before the fireball hit, something burst out of the snakes back, out of the way of the blast.

"Impressive Sasuke, but you shouldn't let your guard down, that's no fun for the predator!"

The grass Nin actually slithered up the tree towards the Uchiha, until something landed in front of him, a Snake fang, freshly ripped from its host's jaw by the looks of it.

"I swear Sasuke, your stalkers get creepier by the second."

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The grass Nin looked up and flinched, 'that face…dear kami…could it be?'

"You there…" the grass Nin muttered, regaining his calm demeanour, "What's your name?"

Naruto smirked, "Isn't it considered polite to give your own before asking?" he asked snidely, his fox-like grin in place.

'Kami-sama…even the grin is like Arashi's!', the grass nin smiled, almost sadistically, "Beat me and I'll tell you."

Naruto snorted, "That all?" he used the Konoha Shunshin to appear next to Sasuke, "If that's the case we'll beat it out of you!"

He looked at Sasuke, "Windmill manoeuvre, I'll play decoy."

Sasuke nodded, his Uchiha confidence returning with the support of his enigmatic teammate.

Naruto looked at Sakura, "If freak-show there starts any genjutsu, cancel them."

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Orochimaru was pleased, not only were they putting up a fight…but he'd actually witnessed the Uchiha's startling development, and much to his pleasure, the blonde's as well.

'To think he would develop so quickly…' the Sanin thought, 'Arashi…your legacy is quite impressive.'

He readied the five element seal as he held Naruto up with his tongue. 'But I can't jeopardise the plan… forgive me Arashi.'

"Gogyofuuin: The five element seal!"

Naruto screamed as the purple chakra enveloped him. Within him, he heard the desperate cries of Kyuubi as he tried to stay in contact with him. Then nothing, he felt strangely empty…alone.

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Naruto began to shiver, since his birth, since the seal was put in place; Kyuubi had always been with him, sending comforting vibes to settle his young mind, like a soothing hand on his shoulder.

Now that presence was gone, the hand was gone.

"Forgive me…" he heard the freaky grass Nin mutter, before passing out.

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Sasuke caught his blonde team-mate as he fell, glaring at the nin, "Who the hell are you?!"

"I am Orochimaru…the giant snake." The nin replied, glaring at the genin.

"I had thought to leave you a parting gift…" he turned his back, "but out of respect for the fight you two put up, I won't."

He glared at them, freezing them with killing intent, and a grin that, somehow, was even worse, spread across his features.

"Until we meet again…Sasuke-kun."

The Sennin disappeared, seeming to vanish into the ground.

Anyone noticing Orochimaru being out of character slightly?

If you can guess why, send it in a review.


	9. Chapter 9

Little foreword before the actual story. This fic was meant to have mild crossover elements, and it will tie into several others fics at times, an example can be viewed in this chapter.

Now, without further ado: Let the games begin!

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Chapter nine.

"He's waking up." Shikamaru said, waving the others over, "Bastard slept through the entire fight…how troublesome."

Naruto groaned and covered his head, feeling like he'd received the biggest hangover in existence.

"I swear if I open my eyes and find myself in someone's bed I'm going to butcher the first person I see…and anyone else if I feel like it."

Shikamaru snorted and moved aside as Choji helped the blonde sit up.

Naruto looked around then frowned at Shikamaru.

"You got lucky." He muttered, making it clear that his previous statement wasn't a bluff.

Sasuke rolled his, eyes, wincing at the bandages around his arms.

"The sound Nin attacked us a while ago, if these guys hadn't shown up we'd be dead."

Naruto looked up and noticed that 'fuzzy brows' and his team-mates were here too, he frowned at the long haired guy.

"Have we met before?" he asked, before noticing the pale eyes.

"Wait, you're a Hyuuga, right?"

Neji frowned, "Your point?"

Naruto shrugged, "Just wondering if you saw Hinata-san around."

At the girls name the longhaired genin's eyes narrowed and he marched off. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Something I said?" he asked, looking over at the teen's female teammate.

Ten-Ten shrugged, "It's a personal thing." She explained, and Naruto nodded.

"Ah, I see, another Sasuke-wannabe."

The Uchiha snorted, tossing an apple at the blonde, "I'm not that bad Naruto."

The blonde smirked, "Not now, but I remember when all you did was grunt and frown at people if they talked to you."

He bit into the apple, "That and threaten them if they wouldn't piss off."

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As the two spoke, Ino and Sakura were glaring at them, flames roaring in the background.

'How dare Naruto speak to Sasuke-kun like that!' they thought jointly, 'Sasuke-kun shouldn't lower himself to speaking to trash like him!'

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Naruto looked over at Rock lee and frowned, "So, Fuzzy brows, was that your dad we met back at the academy? I forgot to ask."

Lee looked confused for a minute, and then laughed out loud, "That was Gai sensei! He is the best Taijutsu master in Konohagakure! Alas! I only wish he was my father, so then I could better understand his ways!"

Flames erupted form the youth's eyes as he clenched his fist.

Naruto, and everyone else sans Neji, sweat-dropped at the sight.

"So…the reason you dress like him…" Naruto shivered, "Your not stalking him are you?"

Lee face faulted, as did the Sakura, Ino and, to the surprise of Ten-Ten, Neji.

"NO!!!" Lee howled, looking crimson, "Master Gai is my idol! He's taught me everything I know! Don't you ever insult him like that!"

Naruto leaned back from the force of the yell, "Easy there pal, it's just…" he looked the guy over, "the way you guys were hugging each other…"

He smiled a little, "kinda looked like something a family would do."

Lee looked at the blonde, "You think so?" he asked, Naruto nodded.

"But if you guys are so close that you even dress like him…maybe he sees you as his little brother?"

Naruto shrugged, "Just my opinion, sorry if I offended you."

He pulled out his book, snorting at the dirt that got on it, "Someone better tell me who was going through my pockets."

He glared at the assorted genin, "And so help me if they were trying to cop a feel they'd better be prepared to lose that hand."

The girls blushed at the comment whilst Shikamaru snorted, "Mendokuse..."

Naruto glared at him then smirked, pulling out a chocolate bar he'd stashed away, "Choji, if you tell me who did this I'll give you this."

"Shikamaru did it." The Akimichi answered quickly, grabbing the chocolate and promptly munching down, "He was looking for your scroll."

Naruto snorted, "Tough nuts then, 'cause Sasuke has it, and I doubt he'd appreciate you groping him."

He snorted at the affronted look on the lazy genins face, "Oops, did I pop your little fantasy bubble there?"

Shikamaru snorted, "How troublesome, maybe we should have let the Otonin get you…"

Naruto scoffed, "But then your lewd fantasies of Sasuke would be at an end."

He dodged a rock tossed by Sasuke, "Just kidding, besides, maybe that's why he's always sleeping."

Shikamaru snorted and walked away.

Naruto frowned a little then stood up, pulling the storage scroll out of his pocket.

"Right listen, up, grateful as I am for the assist and 'charming' conversation." He said, holding the scroll up for all to see.

"I don't like having debts."

He released the sealing jutsu and pulled out the spare heaven scroll. "So here's how it works, whoever needs a heaven scroll, step forward, it's all yours."

Tenten stepped up, but so did Ino, causing Naruto to sweat drop, "Crap."

He thought for a second then smirked, "Got it, we'll settle this the old fashioned way."

Tenten and Ino braced for a fight.

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After an embarrassing round of Rock paper scissors, Team Gai walked off with a complete set of scrolls, a beaming Tenten talking amiably to Lee, whilst Neji shook his head at the audacity of it all.

Team ten, had left, sulking, whilst Ino shrieked at the two for being so incompetent, whilst Shikamaru lazily pointed out she had been the one to lose ten times in a row.

Naruto sighed, "Thought we could have bartered for another scroll there, ah well."

He looked over at the other two, "I miss anything other than the fight? What did the snake-perv do?"

Sasuke snorted, "Aside from 'copping a feel' as you put it? Nothing after he knocked you out."

Naruto grimaced, rubbing his stomach, "I swear, everywhere I go its one freak show after another, now we've got a horny transvestite following us around."

Sakura blushed and Sasuke shivered.

Several days passed, and team seven still hadn't acquired an earth scroll, it was getting to the point that they began to consider hunting town team ten and taking theirs.

That is until Naruto hit the jackpot.

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"Too easy." He muttered, snagging the Iwanin's scroll, "That's the complete set."

He'd found the poor bastard answering natures call, and promptly strung him up after knocking the unfortunate genin out.

Marching back to camp, he espied Kabuto talking with Sasuke and Sakura.

"Hey four eyes." Naruto greeted, smirking.

Kabuto snorted at the reference, "You're awfully cheerful, and considering the beating you took."

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever, what's up, harvesting scrolls?"

Kabuto shook his head, holding up his scroll set. "Gathered mine a day ago, but got split up with my team, we were supposed to regroup at the tower." He smiled, "I picked up a few spares, need any?"

Naruto smirked, holding up the scroll he acquired, "Picked it up, seems answering natures call has two uses now."

The blue haired genin chuckled, "If that's the case, what say we make our way to the tower?"

He glared at Sakura, "Unless you wish to try opening that scroll again."

Naruto frowned at the girl, "Is that big forehead of yours the result of all the air in your skull? We were told not to open it."

He shook his head, "Why'd you give it to her Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I was setting traps," he reasoned, "and she volunteered to watch the camp."

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever."

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Aside from a run-in with the rain Nin's teammates, the trip to the tower was pretty uneventful.

Giving Yoroi the finger as they walked through the door ahead of them, Naruto snorted.

"What a dick." He muttered, looking up at the scroll on the wall, "What the?"

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Orochimaru looked at the card with Sasuke's data on it. He looked up at Kabuto, "I do so enjoy your intelligence…good work."

He used shunshin to teleport away.

'How far can you go...Kaji-kun…?'

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"What the hell is this crap?" Naruto muttered, eyeing the tattered tapestry, "Looks like the moths went to town on it."

"Maybe we have to open the scrolls?" Sakura asked, head to the side, thinking.

Naruto snorted, "Sounds like the most intelligent thing you've said recently."

Ignoring her blonde teammate, Sakura peeled open the heaven scroll, while Naruto opened the earth scroll he'd pilfered.

"Humanity?" He wondered, noticing that the scrolls were starting to smoke.

"SHIT! Drop them!" he yelled, slapping Sakura's wrist.

The scrolls released a stream of smoke, which when cleared, revealed a very familiar form.

"Iruka-san!" Naruto yelled, tackling the scarred Chunin around the waist.

Iruka chuckled, and then proceeded to explain the reason behind the wall scroll.

"If Naruto's weakest area lies in academics, then he needs to study to learn the principles that will help him on missions."

Naruto snorted, glaring at a giggling Sakura, until Iruka continued.

"If Sakura's weakness lies in physical aspects, such as strength and power, she needs to train hard to attain the necessary physical prowess a shinobi requires."

Naruto smirked, "In that case, she may as well drop out now, all the brains in the world aint gonna help you if your opponent can kill you before you realise it."

Sakura glared daggers at the blonde genin, plotting painful revenge.

Iruka smirked, "Chunin are the unit commander class…responsible for leading their teams, and only those that optimize wisdom and strength stand a chance of attaining that rank. Learn it…live it…believe it from the bottom of your heart!"

He looked at them sombrely, "Keep the Chunin directive foremost in your mind as you move on top the next exam."

Then he smiled, "That's the entire message."

Naruto saluted, "Yes sir!" causing the Chunin to smile sadly.

"Don't overdo things in the third exam." He looked at his ototo, "Especially you Naruto, I worry about you."

Naruto frowned, his face taking on an unusually serious outlook.

"The day I received my Konoha graduation Hitai-ate…I stopped being a student!"

Looking at Iruka's shocked face, Naruto continued, "No need to worry." He tapped his headband, "This is proof of my maturity…and I got it from you Iruka-san."

Locking eyes with the chunin he continued. "You know me better than anyone in this village, so I won't tell you my personality's changed…but I'm not a kid!"

He smirked, "I'm a full-fledged shinobi!"

The blondes face softened into a warm smile, "But thanks for your concern…I appreciate it…Nii-chan."

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Iruka looked shocked; Naruto had never called him 'Ni-chan' since he was a child; The Chunin smiled sadly at the memories, before nodding, remembering Kakashi's words.

'…They're not your students anymore. They're my subordinates.'

He sighed, 'Well Kakashi…it looks like it's you, not I, who know what these kids are capable of…'

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"Congratulations to all of you, for passing the second exam!" Anko called out, looking over the assorted ranks of genin.

'Heh…we started with 78 applicants…it's amazing that 27 of them actually made it.' She smirked sadistically, 'I said I'd pare their numbers down to less than half, but I was really only expecting a single digit figure…'

Ino was ecstatic that Sasuke's team actually made it to the semi-finals, or Sasuke had at any rate, whereas Shikamaru was grumbling at the remaining amount of competitors.

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Up on the podium, Maito Gai snorted.

"Your students made an impressive showing!" he said to Kakashi, "I wonder how much of it was dumb luck?"

He smiled confidently, "…not that it matters. My team is bound to knock them out in the next round."

Turning to Kakashi he continued, "At the next level, it will all be about their abilities…or lack thereof." He sighed, "Ah well…sometimes being young is all about dealing with heart-break, eh Kakashi?"

The cycloptic jounin blinked and looked at his bushy-browed colleague, "Huh? I'm sorry…did you say something?"

Gai twitched, and began ranting inside his head whilst Kakashi wondered whether his 'eternal rival' had forgotten to take his medication or something.

Next to them, a short older woman, possibly in her late fifties, chuckled at the sight, whilst a man in a tengu mask remained stoic, their headbands baring the symbol of 'spirit.'

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As the teams analysed each other, Naruto snorted.

"Oji-san, Kakashi sensei, Uber-brows…even the creepy lady, quite the dream team we have there."

He looked at the sound Jounin and froze, "Is it just me, or does music boy there look familiar, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha nodded, "Can't be a coincidence, he looks to much like the guy we met in the forest."

"Now the Hokage himself will explain the third exam." Anko called out, "Listen up and take all his words to heart."

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'A war in miniature?' Naruto raised an eyebrow at the old man, 'Is it any wonder we're at odds with almost everyone here?'

He eyed Gaara, who looked positively bored, 'Seems some don't think much of it either.'

He looked up at Hayate and winced, 'yikes…talk about a dead man walking.'

The sickly looking jounin turned and addressed the assorted contestants, letting them know that the preliminaries were starting, and that anyone who couldn't compete, should withdraw now.

Naruto was about to comment on this when, to his surprise, Kabuto raised his hand and marched off, making some feeble excuse about being wasted from their earlier scuffle with the rain-nins.

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The finals started, with the announcement of the first round fight.

Uchiha Sasuke V.S. Akado Yoroi.

The round went off rather well, with Sasuke practically dominating the fight until he realised that getting in close to grapple allowed the taller genin to utilise his Chakra draining abilities. Fortunately, Sasuke managed to use his newly developed Shishi-rendan, or lion barrage, to pound the poor sod into the arena floor.

Next up was Hinata's stoic teammate, Shino, against the unfortunate Otonin, Zaku. The cocky sound ninja had to be carried out of the arena when he blew his own arms off.

Naruto shivered as the insects crawled back under Shino's coat, after hearing Gai and Neji's revelation.

"No offence to the guy, but allowing a bunch of insects to turn your body into a walking hive?" He shivered again, "That's just gross, effective, but gross."

Lee nodded, and Kurenai felt somewhat relieved that someone else felt even a little weirded out by the knowledge.

Naruto turned to Hinata and nodded, "Though if he's Hinata-san's friend, I'm sure he can't be that bad…god knows he can't be worse than Akamaru's pet human."

Kiba let off a plethora of curses, which Kurenai thumped him for.

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Next up was a real shocker.

Kuwabara Kazuma V.S Kankuro.

Kankuro smirked at his opponent, the teen was taller than him, but from what he could tell, the idiot was all brawn and no brains. He wore his Hitai-ate around his arm, over standard, blue Shinobi gear and a white coat. He wore a black shirt over what appeared to be fishnet.

The carrot topped, teen was currently giving the finger to one of his teammates, not even bothering to look at his opponent.

"Nuts to you Urameshi! Just you watch!"

Kankuro snorted within the wrappings he normally used to carry his puppets, before having Karasu attack.

Kuwabara dodged his opponent and glared at the binding s on his back, making Kankuro shiver.

To the sand-nin's great surprise, he found himself being throttled by the guy and Karasu with a massive hole in its chest area, let alone having all it's limbs removed, rather violently I might add.

"Give up right now." Kuwabara growled, "Or I'll shove what's left of that mutated Barbie so far up yer ass, you'll be crapping out splinters!"

Whimpering a quick surrender, the poor sand-nin found himself hurtled across the arena for his troubles.

Kuwabara snorted and walked up the steps, insulted that the idiot thought he'd lose to a mutated doll.

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Kakashi raised his eyebrow, 'Dumb…but he's got a butt-load of chakra,' he eyed the teens remaining team-mates, 'and he appears to be the weakest of them, in that aspect at least.'

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Next up was Tsurugi Misumi versus Minamino Kurama.

As the red head walked down the steps, even Sasuke flushed at the sight. Dressed in silk garbs of oriental origin, the red haired genin seemed almost delicate.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow appreciatively.

'now there's a keeper.' he muttered to himself.

The only one not affected by the genin's beauty was Naruto, whose sense of smell told him that falling for this genin would embarrass many here.

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Misumi waved at the genin, "I'll let you have the first blow, ladies first and all."

The red head twitched, before dashing forwards, throwing various punches that Misumi easily avoided thanks to his ability to bend his body at will.

That is, until he suddenly stopped dead.

"Wha…why can't I move?" he gurgled, feeling most peculiar.

"I planted a special seed on you as we fought." Kurama explained, "Its taken root now and at a simple word from me, it will blossom, from within."

Misumi blanched and struggled, "Hang on! Can't we talk about this?!" he waved his arms, "We could go out on a date, what d'ya say?!"

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Yusuke and Kuwabara winced, 'Oh shit, he's boned.' they thought, whilst a red eyed Spirit Nin snorted.

'Hn...fool'

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Kurama's face grew cold, "Die."

The flowers erupted from Misumi's skin in a torrent of blood.

As he fell over, Kurama turned to Hayate.

"Be at ease, I held back, I don't like picking on the weak."

Smiling the red haired genin turned to the audience, "And to ensure there are no further mix ups…I'm a boy."

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Naruto cackled at the horrified expressions on the assorted males in the area, as did the red head's teammates, and a certain red-eyed spirit Nin, whose own team-mate were giggling.

Naruto looked at Gaara, the only person not reacting, other than a smirk in the direction of his jounin, Baki, who was looking a bit bothered.

'Guess I'm not the only one who noticed.' The vessel chuckled, before looking at Sasuke.

"Isn't that typical Sasuke, the one girl you decide to notice, turns out to be a guy?"

The Uchiha hurled a kunai at his teammate, flushing, though his earlier bout with the chakra stealing Yoroi took all the power out of the throw.

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After Misumi's carcass was cleared off the arena floor by the medic Nins on call, the next match was declared.

Haruno Sakura versus Yamanaka Ino.

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"That was pathetic." Naruto muttered, "Those two spent more time screeching at each other than a pair of cats in heat."

He looked over at Sasuke, "Why do we put up with her?"

Sasuke shrugged from his position on the floor, "Because we need three members to form a cell, and Kakashi's too lazy to find someone to replace her."

Kakashi frowned at the two, and was about to cut in, when Naruto held up his hand.

"I know what your about to say so drop it, we're just venting that Sakura, the so called brains of the academy, only managed a tie."

He nodded towards Ino, "And for what, due to some infantile quarrel over the same guy?"

He smirked at his raven-haired teammate, "Maybe we should tell everyone your gay or something, maybe then they'll leave you alone."

Sasuke gave Naruto the finger and the two laughed, "Your right, then Shikamaru and every other queer would chase after you."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto and put him in a headlock, threatening unmentionable things to the blonde's manhood if he didn't shut up.

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The next match, between one Yusuke Urameshi and another reinin called Rando, who looked a complete freak, running around bare-chested and all, ended with the tattooed idiot shrinking himself and the black haired genin stomping on him a few times.

'Too bad that chant has to be spoken aloud…it may have come in handy at some stage.'

Naruto winced at the lack of response, having forgotten that the snake perv had apparently cut him off from Kyuubi.

He turned to watch the end of the match between Tenten and the blonde sand nin.

'Pretty big assortment of weapons she has there.' He muttered uncomfortably as the weapon specialist hurled a veritable armoury at her opponent, summoned from two scrolls she'd placed on the ground.

'I wonder how I'd fare like that…come to think of it…wonder if I could get a sword like Zabuza's?' he grinned at the thought of him cleaving the snake perv in two with Kubikiri Houcho, Zabuza yelling at him to give the Zanbato back.

Blinking at the sudden gasp he snapped out of his daydream to see Tenten, back bent at an unhealthy angle on Temari's fan.

"Harsh." He winced, seeing the look of pain on the lee's team-mate's face. Then his eyes widened as he leapt into the arena, just ahead of Lee, and grabbed the poor girl before she was flung against the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled at the blonde kunoichi, eyes flashing red for a split second, "You'd already won! What the hell do you gain by killing her?!"

Temari was about to scoff when a wave of killing intent, immeasurably greater than anything Gaara ever gave off, brought her to her knees, eyes wide.

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Gaara's own eyes widened in shock, as something he never dreamed would happen, happened.

'Shukaku…is afraid…' he whispered, listening to the tanuki's terrified whimpers, 'What has Temari done?'

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Naruto growled at the blonde, "Try anything like that again and I'll personally shove that fan so far down your throat, you'll beg me to kill you!"

Temari could only nod; tears of fear coursing down her face as she tried to back away.

Naruto snorted and passed Tenten to Lee, "Better get her to the medics."

The taijutsu expert nodded and turned to go, when Naruto called out to him.

"Lee…lets show these bastards how real ninja act." He glared at the others, "And that goes for the rest of you too, we look out for our own."

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Gai was actually crying at, 'The beautiful display of youth!' that the two genin had displayed, whilst Kakashi was sceptical.

"I thought you hated everyone in this village…Naruto." He asked, not looking at the boy.

Naruto spat on the ground, "I do, but that's no reason to turn your back on a comrade," He looked at his jounin instructor, "even if we are on different teams, we're still comrades."

Kakashi smirked, "Are you sure it wasn't because she's cute?"

Naruto's response, a knee to the balls, caused many to stare at the genin in shock.

"Kakashi-no-hentai, is that all you think about?!"

He glared at the twitching jounin, "Suggest that again and I swear I personally hunt down and slaughter the guy who writes that dime store smut you call literature!"

Every male Jounin, and Anko, winced at this, wondering if Kakashi would be able to walk again.

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Near the women's bath, a white haired letch sneezed, giving away his location, and earning a one-way trip to pains-ville.

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Naruto was so annoyed he practically punted a hapless Shikamaru into the arena when the lazy genin mentioned how troublesome it was when his match was called out.

The genin landed on top of his startled opponent, the female sound Nin.

Naruto sweatdropped, "Er…sorry!" he called out, scratching the back of his head.

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The match ended with a concussed Kin being carried of by medics.

Shikamaru marched, or rather, limped up the steps. Naruto's kick had bruised his left butt cheek something awful, not that he'd admit it in public, and he would have glared daggers at the genin if it weren't so troublesome.

Neji frowned, as he began to measure up this years rookies; deciding the cut was much better than when he'd been at the academy.

The board announced the next contenders.

Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba.

Ignoring Kiba's ecstatic cries, Naruto used Shunshin to teleport into the arena.

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"Before we start, I have one thing to ask." Naruto said.

Kiba snorted, "If your asking me to leave Akamaru out of this, forget it, we fight as a team!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Actually, I was going to ask Akamaru if you'd had your shots yet."

Kiba howled in outrage and hurled himself at the blonde, "THAT'S IT!"

He made several hand seals, "Shikyaku no jutsu!" then lunged forwards on all fours attacking Naruto.

The doppelganger burst into smoke, causing the Inuzuka to snort in annoyance.

"Easy there, baka-inu." Naruto muttered, reading from his book again, "Or my friend there may decide to nick something vital."

Kiba stared at the sight of Akamaru held in the grasp of a doppelganger and smirked, tossing the pooch a soldier pill.

Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at the changed mutt, 'okay…didn't expect the mutt to be a freaking drug addict.'

He put the book away and pulled a scroll out, 'Better get ready.'

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'Damn it!' he cursed as he pulled himself up, 'That Gatsuuga attack really packs a punch, like going head to head with a chainsaw.'

He smirked, rubbing his cut cheek, 'Time to put some of my techniques to use.'

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Up in the stands, Kakashi's visible eye widened as Naruto made a very familiar seal.

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'Boar' Naruto smirked.

"The finest of the arts used by those hidden in the mist and rain…Kirigakure no jutsu!"

Everyone's eyes widened as a thick blanket of fog fell over the arena, hiding the two genin from view.

Kiba snorted, as the mist seemed to blanket even Naruto's scent from him.

'Damn it!' he growled, 'This was supposed to be an easy win!' he glared around at the fog, 'Where'd that bastard learn this from?!'

"There are eight targets…" A cold, distinctly chilly voice called out, Anko's eyes widened, it sounded very similar to Orochimaru's!

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, almost flattered that the genin would use his voice in a scare tactic.

"Throat, Spinal column, lungs, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, heart…kukukuku…so many choices, what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?"

Kiba shivered within the fog, whilst Sasuke and Sakura shivered above it, knowing just how effective this tactic was.

'Seems Naruto's been pickling up a few things…I'd better up my game if I'm gonna win this!' Sasuke pondered, shivering with anticipation.

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Yuusuke whistled, "Kid's pretty cocky, isn't he Kurama?"

The red head chuckled, "Reminds me of you."

He looked at Kuwabara, "Can you sense him?"

Kuwabara nodded, "Yeah, he's got a scroll in his hands…I think he's going to try a summons."

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"Ahh…wait…I forgot a very vital target…" Naruto called out, "Care to guess what it is Baka-inu?"

"Show yourself you coward!" Kiba screamed, hurling Kunai at the sound, "Fight like a man!"

There was a deadly silence, even more chilling than the voice.

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"Something tells me that was the wrong thing to say." Yusuke muttered.

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"A coward…is that what you called me?" the anger in that voice was unmistakeable, "I lived my earliest days being treated like the shit your clan cleans out of their kennels, beaten and abused by everyone I met."

Kiba backed up a little, the killing intent in the mist rising to an extreme thanks to his enhanced senses.

"If it wasn't for the old man and Iruka, I'd have died a dogs death, and if it weren't for me…Zabuza-san and Haku-chan would have suffered the same fate."

Naruto chuckled, "You want me to fight like a man? You mutt?", he rubbed his blood on the scroll he pulled out earlier.

"I'll go one up…I'll show you how true shinobi fight!"

Uh-oh...serious Kuba Pwning on the way.

Send your reviews as per the norm.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten

"I'll show you how true Shinobi fight!"

Everyone waited on baited breath as the blondes voice cut through the air.

'Interesting…' Orochimaru muttered, 'Arashi-kun, your son is just as ornery as you were.'

Gaara shivered at the smell of blood from Naruto's wounds, 'Shukaku…was scared of this boy…why?'

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, twiddling her thumb.

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Naruto activated his Kyugan and began making seals.

'Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Dog.' He slammed the scroll into the ground.

'Doton: Tsuiga no jutsu!' he called out mentally.

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Kiba was about to call out again when a rumbling reached his ears.

"Shit!" he cried as something latched onto his limbs, holding him in place, against the wall, a stifled yelp revealed that Akamaru was in a similar predicament.

Grinning, Naruto cancelled the mist jutsu.

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'How many of my techniques does Naruto know?' Kakashi muttered under his breath, 'And I don't remember giving him a summoning contract…' he gasped in shock, eye widening in disbelief, 'Nani?!'

As the fog cleared, everyone's eyes widened in Shock.

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Four foxes, each the size of a wolf, were holding Kiba in place, a fifth with his paws securing a whimpering Akamaru, teeth wrapped around the poor pup's throat, not enough to draw blood, but enough to hold him still.

"Not bad huh?" Naruto said, dusting himself off.

"Kakashi sensei used this technique on someone we met when we got Zabuza to join us, so you should feel honoured that I'd use one of the infamous copy-nin's tactics to show you up."

Kakashi would have felt chuffed, had Naruto's little helpers not flabbergasted him.

Taking in the looks of surprise on everyone's faces, Naruto chuckled, "Like my little friends? I knew the technique, but I thought I'd add my own little flair."

He smirked, "I do have a reputation as the top ranked unpredictable ninja!"

He gestured at the audience, "So I signed a Fox contract instead."

"Don't talk shit!" Kiba yelled, "Everyone knows there's no contract to summon foxes!"

The foxes tightened their grip, seeming to chuckle at the teens predicament.

Naruto chuckled again, "You're right, there wasn't, until I made one."

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Every jounin in the room stared at him; to make a contract with foxes, or any summoned creature, one would have to seek out the boss animal…and everyone who was at that battle all those years ago knew who the lord of foxes was.

'Kyuubi…he signed a contract with the Kyuubi!' The Hokage muttered, pipe threatening to snap due to his teeth clamping hard on it.

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Naruto sighed, eyeing the trapped genin, "So…care to give up?"

Kiba spat, in reply. "I ain't giving up to a dunce like you! I'll break this summons in no time!"

He grinned, "And I'll bet you're low on chakra!"

Naruto frowned, "True, summoning requires a large amount of chakra, but compared to the move I'm about to do…summoning my vulpine companions here is childs-play."

He braced himself for the chakra strain and asked, "This is your last chance…surrender, otherwise…" he activated his Kyugan for a split second.

"Your future is death."

Kiba winced at the sudden change in eye colour, 'What the heck is this guy? Is this really Naruto?'

'Ox, Hare, Monkey.'

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Kakashi's eye widened as Naruto shot through a VERY familiar series of seals.

'That's my-!'

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Naruto grinned, gripping his right hand as the chakra began to surge, before holding his hand towards the ground, clutching it in his left.

"RAIKIRI!"

The electrical discharge blinded everyone for a split second, but as it cleared, Naruto came into view, grinning like a fox, and the legendary Raikiri blazing in his hand.

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Kurenai blanched at the sight, 'Why on earth would Kakashi teach his technique to a genin?!'

She stared at the copy-nin, 'And to Naruto of all people, I could understand Sasuke, but Naruto?!'

Kurenai noticed the jounin's shocked face, and frowned.

'Wait…if he taught it to the boy…why does he look so shocked?'

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Kuwabara shivered at the discharge, "That's a lot of power the kid's packing there…feels like every hair on my body's about to stand on end."

Kurama nodded, rubbing his red locks, "Indeed…quite an impressive display of raw power."

The red haired spirit Nin eyed the cycloptic jounin across the arena, "So that's the infamous copy-nin's sole original technique…"

Yusuke looked between the two, "Sole original? Copy-nin? What the hell are you talking about?!"

The diminutive jounin bopped him one, "Shut up, baka, if you'd done your research like these two, you'd know who he was."

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Kiba stared in horror at the chakra formed in Naruto's palm. "You…you damn…monster!" he yelled, "Your some kind of monster!"

Naruto bristled for a minute at the memories that flooded him, before smirking coldly.

"I get that a lot around here." Causing a few members of the Konoha jounin to wince, and the Hokage to scowl.

"But what does that make you?"

He straightened up, "A man?"

He released his right hand, eyeing Akamaru, "A dog?"

His face changed to a sadistic smirk that caused many to flinch, "Or a monster?"

Naruto stepped forwards, looking smug; "Ne, Baka-inu, do you remember that target I spoke about earlier, the one I forgot?"

He took in the boy's confused face, "Care to hazard a guess?"

Kiba looked stumped, causing Naruto to grin wider, "C'mon, how can you forget your two best friends…and I'm not talking about your team-mates."

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Kuwabara and Yusuke's eyes widened, as they simultaneously covered their crotches, looks of horror on their faces, whilst the red-eyed genin grinned savagely, his teammate blushing at the innuendo.

Kurama raisned an eyebrow, "Oh dear...that's a painful image." he laughed weakly.

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Kiba's eyes widened, "No…you wouldn't!", he squirmed "You can't!"

"Can't?" Naruto smirked, "Are you saying I lack the resolve?"

He snickered, "If you give up, I won't have to."

"Screw you!" Kiba snarled, before biting his tongue at the sadistic look in Naruto's eyes.

"Really? That a last request?" he sighed, "I never knew you felt that way Kiba, but I'm not your type."

Grinning at the Inuzuka's appalled face he continued, "Since all you seem to think with is your nuts, maybe if I neuter you, you'll put up a better fight!"

He lunged forwards, Kyugan burning and the Raikiri tearing up the arena floor as he charged forwards, low to the ground.

Kiba's terrified scream cut through the arena, and echoed into the air around Konohagakure.

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At her kennels near the Inuzuka estate, Inuzuka Tsume stiffened, 'Mother sense tingling…something just happened to Kiba…'

Pausing for a moment, she shrugged and got back to checking on the latest litter.

'Probably caught peeping on the bath house again.

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Naruto straightened up, having stopped a split second from actually connecting with the last blow.

Kiba had fainted, froth foaming out of his mouth, eyes rolled up and showing nothing but whites.

"Psyche!" Naruto cackled, "You think I'm gonna actually touch your disease ridden genitals?" he spat, "If your that desperate for attention, talk to Shikamaru."

The Nara grimaced at this, 'This guy's so annoying.'

Naruto eyed Hayate and smirked, "Oy, Mr. Referee, I do believe he's out cold."

Hayate coughed, and then announced Naruto's victory.

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Naruto smirked as he walked up the steps, shooting smug glares at the foreign Nins, 'Lets see them try any of that crap again.'

Plopping himself down next to Sasuke, he looked at the flabbergasted expression on the Uchiha's face. "What?"

Sasuke blinked, eyes wide, "Where'd you learn to do that?!"

Naruto shrugged, "Saw Kakashi do it, and thought I'd give it a whirl."

He smirked, shaking Sasuke's shoulder. "Guess I stole the spotlight there huh?"

Sasuke slapped his hand, only to blink as he felt a piece of paper slip into his own.

Opening it his eyes widened.

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'The seals for Raikiri are ox, hare and monkey, if I were you; I'd practice using it as soon as possible, Oh! And have Kakashi-no-hentai teach you some water walking skills, they're much better for chakra control!'

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Sasuke snorted at the chibi Naruto face in the corner, before eyeing his teammate appraisingly, 'sneaky bastard…it would seem I may be ready to face Itachi at this rate.'

Kakashi tapped Naruto on his shoulder, "Where'd you learn those techniques?"

Naruto shrugged, "Wave country."

He pulled out his book, "I can probably pull of two or three Raikiri a day."

Kakashi stiffened at this; he invented the technique, and could only sustain it four times as a jounin…for a genin to use it more than once was exceptional.

'What did you do to that kid, Kakashi?' Kurenai muttered, eyeing the vessel in shock.

Anko smirked, 'Kid continues to surprise…just like he said.'

She looked around, wondering if her old sensei was still in the area, 'If he is…I'm sure he just got an eyeful.'

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Orochimaru was shivering with barely restrained excitement, 'Arashi-kun…I do believe your legacy as a twisted prank-master lives on even today!'

He frowned, "But the boy couldn't have learned that move on his own…and if Kakashi didn't teach him…' he smiled, 'Kukukuku, interesting…'

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Hinata shivered slightly as she eyed the cream in her hands, looking over at Naruto, before gathering what little courage she had and walking over.

"N…Naruto-kun…"

The blonde looked up, from his book, "Hmm? Yes?"

Hinata held out the salve, hand's trembling, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow.

"Healing salve? For me?"

Hinata flushed and nodded.

"What for, Kiba's techniques only winded me."

Hinata felt her resolve slipping and began to tremble, until Shino placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's to prevent infection, and besides…" he turned to look at Kiba, "Akamaru is a good dog, but you should still treat those bites just in case."

Naruto nodded, and took the salve, "Thanks you two, oh, and when Kiba wakes up…tell him I'm open for a rematch."

Shino nodded and guided his flushing teammate back to their instructor.

Kurenai looked at her shy student and smiled, the girl was normally so timid she never said two words to a stranger, yet for some reason, she had recently been working to improve herself. The genjutsu specialist smiled at her unconscious subordinate. 'Don't feel ashamed Kiba, it seems you fought a worthy opponent after all.'

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Naruto rubbed the cream into the bites and scrapes, whistling appreciatively. "Damn but this stuff heals good, doesn't even sting, unlike the crap they dish out at the hospital." He offered some to Sasuke, "Here, you need this more than I do at the minute."

The Uchiha nodded, rubbing the stuff in and sighing as his aches vanished, "You're right, this is tonnes better than the stuff we're issued."

Naruto took the cream back, stuffing it away; Sakura tapped him on the arm.

"Hey! What about me?!" she yelled.

Naruto looked up at her, then back at his book, "You'll be fine, that big forehead of yours absorbed most of the blow."

While the pink haired Shinobi screeched, Naruto looked at the next match ups, two other Reinin, entered, before the blue haired female surrendered to her red Eyed teammate.

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"Trust Botan to give up from the start." Yusuke muttered.

Kurama chuckled, "Well, she is the medic Nin on that team, her fighting skills are no where near enough to combat Hiei's"

Kuwabara looked at the screen, "Guys?" he called out, "The next one looks like trouble…"

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Hyuuga Hinata Versus Hyuuga Neji.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Two Hyuuga fighting?" he looked up at Kakashi, "Then they're related?"

The copy Nin nodded, "Both are members of Konoha's oldest, most illustrious family, through whose veins flows the most elite and accomplished blood…the Hyuuga clan."

He eyed them, "I'd guess their cousins from what I know of them."

Naruto nodded, "Which is from the branch house then?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You're awfully well informed, it's Neji, and he's a year older than you, same as Lee."

Naruto nodded, "It would figure, since Hinata was in our year and all."

He frowned, "What's he saying?"

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"…You can never change yourself!" Neji finished, watching the effect those words had on Hinata.

Naruto clenched his teeth, Kyugan flashing repeatedly; freaking out those that looked at him. He grabbed the handrail and yelled into the arena.

"Yes she can!"

Everyone looked at the enraged genin in shock, especially Hinata.

"Don't go saying crap like that about other people!" he looked at the shy girl, "Hinata! Kick the shit out of that Dick hole!"

The Hyuuga Heiress, along with Sakura and Ino, and even Lee, blushed at the coarse language; whilst Kurenai was surprised the air didn't change colour due to his ranting.

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Kuwabara and Yuusuke stifled their laughter at the shocked look on everyone's faces, whilst their red headed teammate sighed; even their diminutive jounin sensei seemed amused.

'Seems the young lad doesn't think much of those who talk down to their opponents…sort of like two idiots I know.'

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Naruto watched as the two fought, wincing every time one of Hinata's grunts's of pain reached his ears, 'damn it…I don't know what the hell this guy's problem is…but there's no just reason for attacking family like that.'

He winced again, 'Man…that Juken stuff is pretty brutal, damaging the interior like hat…and even cutting off the chakra supply…' he frowned, 'How can I incorporate that into my own fighting style…even my Kyugan has it's limits...or does it?'

Flash back.

_**Kit, the Kyugan is a doujutsu that all my kind can perform. As its name suggests, it comes in nine stages, which progress as you grow more experienced. **_

_**Firstly, there's the Spirit Stage, this will allow you to copy any jutsu you see. **_

_**Secondly, the Shadow Stage, that can pierce even the thickest Genjutsu. **_

_**Thirdly, the Body Stage, which allow you to mimic any taijutsu form you see, flawlessly. **_

_**The Fourth, the Earth Stage, which allows you to see with perfect 360 degree vision. **_

_**The Fifth, the Fire Stage, which enables you to view a person's internal organs, and even their chakra passages. **_

_**The Sixth, the Water Stage, enables you to interpret an opponent's move, just by noticing small changes in their aura. **_

_**The Seventh, the Wind Stage, enables you to read minds. **_

_**The Eighth, the Hell Stage, grant's you the ability to perform any Jutsu without the need for hand seals. **_

_What about the ninth? _

_**It is called the Heaven Stage…only my parents ever achieved this Stage. **_

_What does it do? _

_**…It grant's you immortality. **_

End Flash back.

Naruto, frowned at the memory, by the time they had left for wave country with Tazuna, he'd already been able to activate the second stage, and had been constantly developing his chakra control since then, however, whatever that snake perv had done to him had fucked his chakra control up, as if it wasn't bad enough already.

'It took all I had to keep it up during those brief exchanges with Kiba…So it looks like I won't be copying Juken anytime soon, even if I manage to unlock the third stage before this match ends.'

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"That's Neji's finisher, it targets the heart." Gai said, snapping the blond out of his reverie, "It's a pity, but the poor girl can't even stand anymore."

Naruto's own heart stopped at the jounin's words, 'Targets the…FUCK!'

The blonde leapt into the ring, scant seconds head of Kurenai, making a dash for the kunoichi as she fell.

Catching her, he lowered her gently to the ground, as he wiped the blood from her face.

'Shit, shit, shit!!!' he thought.

"She's not breathing!" he called out, ripping off her jacket, as Kurenai landed beside him, "Where in the blue fuck are those medics?!"

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Kurenai glared at the long haired Hyuuga, 'He really intended to kill her!', when she noticed Naruto gathering Chakra, 'What the?'

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'Shit on a God damn cracker…didn't expect to pull this out until the finals.' he braced himself.

'Ram, horse, ram, monkey, ram, tiger, tatsu, snake.'

Green Chakra gathered around Naruto's hands as he finished the seals.

"Ninpou: Shinrei Shujutsu!"

Kurenai's eyes widened as Naruto pressed his hands on Hinata's chest, and then gasped as they passed right through!

'What on-?!'

"Kurenai-san, if you would be so good as to hold her head? I can't do this if she spasms." Naruto muttered, eyes closed.

The red-eyed jounin stared at him, and then nodded, gently holding her pupils head.

Naruto's brow furrowed, before he let out a yell; there was a flash of green light, and Hinata lurched into his chest, gasping for air.

"Easy now, it's okay." He muttered, tapping the girls back as she coughed.

"Kurenai, she'll need to rest for a while, better take her to the medics to be safe."

Kurenai nodded, shocked, and then carried her stricken student away.

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Naruto stood slowly, like a glacier, radiating barely restrained killing intent.

Neji snorted at this, "You got something to say? Dead-last?"

Naruto growled, "A coward's attack."

Neji scowled, "What did you say?"

"Deliberately preying on Hinata's lack of self confidence, aiming for her heart…bad enough a girl, but family? Unprovoked?"

The blonde scowled, "A coward's attack."

Neji lunged forwards, Byakugan blazing, only to be restrained by the examiner and Gai.

"Please keep the fights within scheduled settings." Hayate coughed, "Otherwise you risk disqualification."

"Neji," Gai muttered, "Before this match began, you gave me your word as a man that you'd leave your personal feelings for the main family out of this."

Neji snorted and walked away, only to pause as Naruto moved.

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The vessel, walked to a small puddle of Hinata's blood, scooping up the blood and clenching his fist, eyes closed.

"I swear, even if it takes me until the end of time."

His eyes snapped open, Kyugan burning like hellfire, "I'll win!"

Looking over at Lee, Naruto nodded, "Lee, I know how much you want to fight this dick-hole…but if it comes down to it…" he grinned, "I'll have to fight you for it!"

Lee looked surprised then did the nice guy pose and grinned, "YOSH! Naruto-kun! We'll battle it out for the right to battle Neji!"

Gai smiled up at his subordinate, 'Lee, you amazing kid you!'

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"What exactly was that technique you used?" Kakashi asked, "I've never seen it before."

"Shinrei Shujutsu, a medical technique I developed." Naruto said.

Kakashi stared at the blonde, "With Iruka?"

'Like I'd tell you I learned it from Kyuubi nii-san.' Naruto scoffed.

"No, by myself."

Kakashi's visible eye bugged out of its socket, whilst Orochimaru shivered in barely restrained mirth.

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Kuwabara felt the sweat run down his forehead, "Genkai-sensei…did you feel that?"

Yusuke looked at him, "What?"

Genkai nodded, "Hmm, the girl was dead for about five seconds…until the boy somehow forced her spirit back into its body."

Yusuke's eyes widened, "NANI?!"

Kurama nodded, "But isn't that…one of our villages forbidden techniques?"

Genkai nodded, "Which means that our target may be closer than we thought."

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Gaara versus Rock lee.

Naruto gave the Gai look-a-like the thumbs up as he jumped into the ring, before looking at the red haired opponent. He flinched; something was off about this guy.

Straining to activate his Kyugan, Naruto's eyes widened as the sand within the gourd appeared to be moving of its own volition.

'This could be trouble...' he muttered to himself.

Suddenly his right arm twitched, of its own volition. To the blonde's shock he found himself mimicking Lee's ready stance with it.

'What the…?' he wondered, before it clicked.

The third stage of the Kyugan had activated.

The Elusive Kyugan Kekkei Genkai is revealed!

Think about it, it's a demonic Kekkei Genkai, that's as close to GOD-MODE as ninjas are likely to get.

However, Naruto needs Kyuubi's chakra to keep it going, so if he can't summon it, it can only be used for brief intervals, like when it flashed during the match with Kiba.

Also, it requires a relatively clear frame of mind, so Anger can cause it to flicker on and off.

Please R&R!


	11. Chapter 11

First off, I just want to thank all you people for sednign in so many reviews, I'm new at this and so wasn't expecting such a great reaction.

I especially want to thank Genesis D. Rose for pointing out the errors in the first few chapters, and for sending me my first review.

Now, without further ado, let the match's continue!

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Chapter eleven.

'God damn…' Naruto wondered in awe, 'I almost felt my muscles snap along with Lee's…but there's no doubt that those moves will come in handy.'

He smirked, 'With my healing factor, a few torn muscles are the least of my worries.'

The sheer impact of Lee's final move had torn the stadium floor to ribbons, but Gaara had managed to cushion his fall with that damnable sand again.

Naruto winced as he heard Lee's screams of pain, leaping into the ring scant seconds after the youth was disqualified, his hands already begining the seasls for the Shinrei Shujutsu.

Gaara eyed the blonde cautiously, like a wild animal.

'Uzumaki...Naruto...' he growled, feeling Shukaku shiver at the closeness of the blonde leaf genin.

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'At least I was able to heal his muscles…but removing those splinters from his spinal column is a task for a specialist.'

Naruto sighed, if he hadn't seen it, he never would have believed that the human body could go so far.

'Too bad Aniki never saw that.' He growled, rubbing his stomach.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn, into a full body hug from Gai.

"Thank you for your assistance! Your youthful passion has no doubt saved Lee's life!" The Taijutsu specialist cried, fountain like tears streaming down his face.

'Okay, that just sounded wrong.' Naruto muttered, sweat-dropping.

"It was that or watch a comrade die…and I promised him we'd fight over who pummels Neji."

Naturally, this sent Gai into one of his teary eyed rambles about the flames of youth, which the blonde ignored as he walked back to his own sensei.

"Wake me when the last match is over." He said to Sasuke, "And tell Shikamaru to get an icepack ready for his friend…that sound guy looks smarter than his team-mates."

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The matches ended, and the old man finally called the assorted genin to the stands.

Staring at the paper in his hands Naruto frowned.

"Drawing lots?" he wondered, "What does this prove?"

Kuwabara silently agreed.

'This hasn't been infused with Chakra in any way…so it's not like Genkai-sensei's tests…'

"I will now announce the fighting line up for the finals." Sarutobi called out.

Everyone stared at him in various degrees of shock.

"What the?! The finals are simply fighting?!" Naruto yelled out.

"Alright!" Yusuke yelled, leaping in the air, Kuwabara beside him.

"One-on-one, that's a true man's way to fight!" Kuwabara shouted, clenching his fist.

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'That lanky kid's almost like Gai.' Kakashi thought; sweat dropping, whilst the taijutsu specialist's eyes were aflame, spouting more flames of youth comments.

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"The order of the fights will be as follows." Ibiki called out, holding out a piece of paper.

Chunin Exam Finals.

Round 1: Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji.

Round 2: Gaara versus Urameshi Yusuke.

Round 3: Temari versus Jaganshi Hiei.

Round 4: Uchiha Sasuke versus Kuwabara Kazuma.

Round 5: Minamino Kurama versus Nara Shikamaru.

Round 6: Aburame Shino versus Dosu Kinuta.

Naruto eyed Sasuke and frowned, nodding at the layout.

"Doesn't seem fair on you and the big guy…even if you win, you enter the next round straight off the bat."

Sasuke snorted, "Life's never fair in any case."

"You now have a Month's period of rest and training," Sarutobi called out.

"Use this time to familiarise yourself with your opponents' strengths and weaknesses."

Shikamaru raised his hand, interested despite himself.

"You said this is a tournament, so there can only be one winner, right?" he frowned, "Does that mean only one of us can become a Chunin?"

The Hokage shook his head, smiling around his pipe.

"No, for the finals you'll be observed by many judges, including myself and the Kazekage, as well as the rulers and shinobi leaders of the various countries that may consider your village for jobs."

He exhaled pipe smoke, "Based on your performance, those judges will assign you an overall value, and the rank of Chunin is thus awarded."

Temari interrupted, "Are you saying it's possible that all of us could become Chunin?"

Kurama nodded, "By that logic, he's also saying that none of us will become Chunin."

Sarutobi smirked around his pipe, "Well then, good work all! You're dismissed until a month from now."

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Naruto frowned in thought, 'My second rounds either with the ghoul from sand or that reinin…I better do as much research on both as I can.'

He frowned at the red headed Sand-nin, shivering slightly.

'Especially on what the hell that sand is…it's no ordinary jutsu…'

He looked at Sasuke, smirking.

"You better find Kakashi sensei to get back into shape…I'm going to see if I can get my chakra control back to normal."

The Uchiha nodded, and then held out his fist, "See you in the finals?"

Naruto blinked, then grinned, knocking the Uchiha's fist with his own.

"See you at the winners stand!"

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Naruto quickly left the tower; heading to the onsen area to practice water walking. However, he ran into obstacles as he tried gathering Chakra into the soles of his feet.

'No good…no control…'the blonbde muttered, feeling the chakra surge erratically, he tried again, walking onto the scalding hot water, only to plunge into it.

"FUCK THAT'S HOT!!!!"

Naruto Scrambled out of the water almost as quickly as he fell in, skin the colour of a boiled lobster.

"Damn that snake perv!" the blonde hissed, teeth clenched, "If I ever get muy hands on him again I'll!"

Muffled giggling caught his attention, causing him to look in the direction of the women's onsen.

A large man with a veritable mane of white hair was peeping through the wooden wall, shamelessly giggling like the pervert he was.

'God-damn it…why does every adult I bump into turn out to be a weirdo or pervert…'

Naruto glared at the old man, '…though this guy seems to be both…'

Walking up behind the old letch, Naruto quietly drew in as much air as he could, before letting it all out, right in the man's ear.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING SPYING ON THE WOMEN'S BATH YOU PERVERT?!?!?!"

The man leaped ten feet itno the air and fell into the onsen, amidst shrieks from the tennants, before exiting again, rather violently, through the wall.

To this day, there is a large, Jiraiya shaped dent in the wall opposite the onsen.

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Feeling a little sorry for the letch, Naruto dragged him out of the wall and offered to buy him a drink. Of course, the man was sceptical, but after using a Henge to transform into the Hokage, and purchasing a bottle of primo sake, the old man was praising him as a genius.

"So, what brings you to Konoha?" Naruto asked, watching the old guy chug away, "Come to think of it…who the heck are you?"

"Good Question!" The man yelled, going into a lengthy dance routine atop a massive toad that hap apparently appeared out of nowhere.

"I am the most holy Sennin of the mount Myoboku toads, otherwise known as the Gama-Sennin, pleased to meat ya!"

Naruto sweatdropped, eyeing the ridiculous pose with a deadpan expression on his face.

'So this is one of the so called Sannin…Jiraiya the Toad summoner…are they all freaks like this?'

"Seriously though," he muttered, shaking himself, "what brings you to Konoha?"

Jiraiya snorted, dismissing his summoned companion and began searching through his robes.

"I'm a writer…I write Novels…"

He whipped something out, "Like this one!"

Naruto stared flabbergasted at the VERY familiar orange cover of Icha-Icha Paradise, Authors special edition.

'Ah, speak of the devil…I swore I'd kill this guy…'

He looked the Sennin up and down, analytically.

'From the looks of it…an Oroike no jutsu and a few well placed explosive tags would do it.'

"So what about you, what are you up to kid?" Jiraiya asked.

"Training for the Chunin exams, or I would if some freaky snake perv hadn't done something to my ability to mould chakra." Naruto muttered.

Jiraiya frowned, interested.

'Snake-perv? What's Orochimaru doing here?'

He smirked, 'And I wonder what he'd say if someone other than me called him that.'

Shaking himself, the toad summoner frowned, "What exactly did he do?"

Naruto shrugged, "Slammed his hand into my gut…I haven't been able to channel chakra normally since then…"

He sighed, eyes closed, "And my first opponent is a Hyuuga genius."

Jiraiya winced in sympathy, then his face set into a serious expression.

"Let me see where he hit you."

Naruto felt an eyebrow rise, before complying with the Sanin's request, lifting his shirt up to reveal the altered seal.

Jiraiya squated down to get a better look, before snorting in amusement.

'This is just what I'd expect from Orochimaru, the seal's strong, but coarse…a simple matter to fix.'

"Hold still kid, I'm gonna remove it for ya."

'And get revenge for blowing my cover in the process.' the Sennin snickered mentally, ramming his fingers into the boy's gut.

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Naruto grumbled, rubbing his stomach in order to ease the pain.

'That hurt almost as much as when the seal was put on in the first place!' he growled, but he began to feel his old chakra abilities return steadily, and a familiar presence beginning to return to the back of his heead, so he decided to cut the lech a break...this time

"What can I do to repay you?" he asked the stuck up pervert.

Now Jiraiya wasn't the type to milk a situation, (Yeah right!), but he wasn't one to turn down an offer like that.

"Bring me some inspiration for my novels," he said smugly, " after all, you DID ruin my data gathering earlier."

Jiraiya mentally gave himself a pat on the back, knowing that the ladies were less inclined to attack his noble person if they thought he was merely trying to talk to them.

He failed to notice the growing look of sadistic glee that crossed the genin's face.

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One grand slam Harem no jutsu later, and the corrupt Sennin had to be carted off to the hospital due to suffering a haemorrhage inducing nose bleed that sent him crashing into a nearby wall.

"That boy..." the man muttered, as he was carted itno the emergency room, "That boy...is a FREAKING GENIUS!"

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"Now that that's over with, I better get into some proper training." Naruto muttered, having just left the old pervert in the care of the hospital staff.

** Still…you could have asked him to train you…he isn't one of the Sannin for nothing. ** Kyuubi reasoned.

Naruto snorted, I spend enough time in the company of a pervert without training under a self-claimed super-pervert. 

** WELL! Don't I feel loved! **

Naruto sighed, smiling softly.

God, I missed you Aniki. 

Naruto felt the ancient Kitsune's warm smile.

** And I you, kit, now on to more important matters; I see you unlocked the third stage and copied some impressive Taijutsu moves. **

Naruto nodded, frowning slightly.

But it won't do me any good without the proper training. 

Kyuubi nodded, tails wrapped around his forepaws.

** You should find a Taijutsu specialist, preferably the one that trained that kid, and ask for his assistance. **

The Youko smirked, causing the blonde to shiver, only a Youko could poor so much innuendo into a facial expression.

** By the way…did you check on that girl? **

Naruto frowned, not wanting to be baited. Why? 

Kyuubi chuckled, amusement in his voice.

**You risked everything by using that new technique on her…raising the dead is no small task. **

Naruto swore he could see the kitsune's leering smile on the back of his eyes.

** Seems my ototo has finally found a female he likes. **

Naruto scowled and ignored the snickers of his aniki, muttering comments about being surrounded by perverts.

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Maito Gai, resident Taijutsu specialist and possessor of the bushiest eyebrows in existence, was currently at his beloved student's bedside.

The doctors said that the boy's muscles had recovered, but the broken bone fragments near his spine were impossible to remove with the staff at hand, if Kakashi's blonde student hadn't stepped in at that instant, the damage would have been much worse.

At that precise moment, said child walked through the doors, a fruits basket in hand.

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"How is he?" Naruto asked, setting the basket near the boy's bedside, Gai sighed.

"He'll live, but the doctors say he'll probably be out of it for a week…"

The beast looked at his hands, "If only Tsunade-sama were here, she'd have Lee on his feet in a second!"

Naruto nodded, having heard of the legendary healer of Konoha, letting Gai rant on for a matter of minutes, before politely coughing.

"I have a request to ask of you, Gai sensei."

Gai looked at the blonde, "What is it? Ask what you will of Konoha's Blue beast!"

Naruto looked at Lee, wondering hoiw to best phrase this in Gai-ese, and decided to say it as it was.

"Lee and I promised to fight over who fought Neji in the finals…but since he's in this condition…it's like I won by default."

He clenched his fist, "Lee wanted to prove himself to everyone by beating the so called genius he was teamed with…and I just wanted revenge for what Neji did to Hinata…"

Turning to Gai, the Taijutsu specialist was surprised when his eternal rival's pupil suddenly bowed low to him, head on the ground.

"For Lee...and for Hinata…please…I need you to help me train."

Gai stared, as the boy remained there, head on the floor, before bursting into one of his crying spiels about the flames of youth.

"OH! Of Course I will aide you! Together, we shall reawaken the flames of Lee's Youth!"

Naruto nodded, rising to his feet, coughing again to gain the man's attention, lest he go on for the rest of the day.

"I also want Lee to be there, as I prove to Neji that hard work can defeat natural genius."

Gai was so moved by this that he wrapped Naruto in a bone-breaking hug, until several orderlies managed to free the blonde jinchuuriki using a combination of lube, a crowbar and anesthetics.

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When Rock Lee awoke, it was to find a fruits basket on his bedside chair, and a scroll.

'Who...is this from?' the teen wondered, sitting up slowly to avoid irritating his injuries, seeing that his name was on the scroll.

Opening the seal and spreading with his good hand, he read the contents of the scroll with widening eyes.

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_Lee, I'm sorry that we couldn't fight over who fight's Neji in the finals…but I swear, once you've recovered, you and I will definitely fight, one on one, in a man's fight._

_You and I are alike, and so, I swear on my Hitai-ate, that I shall fight to prove that anyone can defeat a genius, with hard work and perseverance._

_I give you my word as a Konoha shinobi, as your comrade, and your friend._

_Uzumaki Naruto._

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Underneath Naruto's name was a doodle of him doing the nice guy pose, grinning, right thumb raised. Lee's eyes watered as he finished the letter.

'Arigatou…Naruto-kun.'

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Before leaving to meet with Gai, Naruto decided to check in on Hinata as well.

When he arrived, he noticed that a tall, black haired man was with her, as well as a little girl.

'Probably her Father and sister.' Naruto reasoned, before politely knocking on the door.

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Hyuuga Hiashi was surprised as he saw the Kyuubi vessel walk through the door.

'So this is how he turned out…Arashi was definitely his parent.'

He nodded and gestured for the boy to come in.

Naruto bowed to the man, having been told countless times how prominent the Hyuuga clan was by Iruka, decidng to make a good first impression in case he had to work with members of the familly on missions.

"Hyuuga-san, how is Hinata-san doing?"

Hiashi nodded and looked at his eldest daughter, who had turned beet red at the boy's appearance, to his mild amusement.

"She's fine, though I hear you're partly responsible for that?" he asked, eyeing the teen carefully.

Naruto nodded, used to covering his tracks.

"I used a medical Jutsu I was developing for field uses, I never thought I'd have to use it until after the finals though."

Hiashi nodded, though internally the man was smirking.

'Just like his father, thinking up new jutsus on the fly.'

"Regardless," face and voice composed, "you have my thanks."

Naruto nodded again, before looking between the parent and child.

"Forgive me if I interrupted anything, I only came to see if Hinata was okay."

He turned to go, before an almost silent voice called out to him.

"Na-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto turned to the shy girl, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Hinata flushed scarlet, then looked at her fingers, mortified at having spoken out.

"Ano…nothing…"

Naruto sighed, moving up to her and patting her on the head, smiling.

"Rest up, you'll need to recover fast if you want to see me and Neji fight."

Hinata flushed again at the feeling of his hand on her head, before nodding.

Naruto ruffled her heair slightly, intrigued at the silkiness of it, before turning to Hiashi.

"Excuse me again, Hyuuga-san." He said, before excusing himself with a bow.

Hiashi looked from his flushed daughter to the departing vessel and smirked inwardly.

'Perhaps some good will come of this after all.'

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Iruka was very surprised when he came home and found a scroll on the table, saying that his ward would be training under Maito Gai, and that he shouldn't worry.

Unfortunately for the Chunin, having heard rumours about Maito Gai from a variety of sources, this did not put him at ease.

'He better not come back wearing spandex, or with that awful bowl-cut!'

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Kuwabara was craving Ramen, and was currently looking for some stand he'd heard of called Ichiraku. The place was the only stand in town with the Hokage's personal seal of approval, and the lanky Reinin wanted to test whether it lived up to its reputation.

'Man...this palce is a maze!' the teen muttered.

'Nowhere near as big as home...but there're so many freakin' alleys and turns it makes you feel like yer walkin in circles!'

At that minute there was a scream off to the right. A Girl's scream.

'That can't be good.' Kuwabara muttered, leaping up the walls in the direction of the noise.

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"You guys sell that brat ramen here, don't'cha?!"

A group of Villagers had surrounded Ayame and old man Ichiraku, holding various implements, ranging from blunt to jagged.

"We told ya not ta serve him!" the riong leader spat, pointing a makeshift club at the chef and his daughter.

"Whoever I serve in my store is none of your business!" Ichiraku spat, holding Ayame. "And just what is wrong with serving someone who appreciates my cooking?!"

"The brat's a monster! Screw the Hokage's Law! If we don't serve him, then maybe he'll just die!"

Ichiraku spat at the man's feet, not threatened in the slightest.

"Just who's the monster here? That boy, who never laid a finger on you, or you wolves in human skin?!"

The man's reply was to lunge at the pair, club raised to strike.

A second later, he was flying backwards through the air, a fist shaped dent in his face, teeth flying in all directions.

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Kuwabara lowered his fist and turned to view the crowd, "Wanna try that again? Ya freaking cowards!"

Another dashed forwards, waving a steel pipe at the teen ony to have the weapon yanked out of his grip,and for his stomach to cave in under the impact of a punch that could fell a cart horse.

Teuchi and Ayame watched in bizzare fascination as the carnage ewent on right before their eyes.

If such things had existed in the shinobi nations, you could compare the scene to a car crash: you just COULDN'T look away.

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Five minutes and several rather painful beatings later, and Kuwabara was stuffing away his eleventh ramen bowl.

"Sorry to get you involved like that." Teuchi said, tossing another batch of noodles, whilst Ayame stirred the soup.

Kuwabara waved his free hand dismissively, slurping up the remains of the broth.

"Nah, back where I come from, we don't take lightly to cowards who gang up on others."

Ayame looked at the teens Hitai-ate, interested at the character for 'spirit.'

"Are you from a hidden village?" she asked, pokitely.

Kuwabara nodded, "Reigakure, hidden in spirit."

Teuchi's eyebrows rose, intriuged, I overheard some villagers talking about you guys...you're in the chunin exams...right?

Kuwabara chuckled, scratching the back of his head, before his face grew serious.

"By the way, what was that all about?"

He gestured with his chopsticks at the pile of pummeled deadbeats just outside the door.

"Something tells me they weren't complaining about the staff."

Ayame sighed, shaking her head.

"Naruto-kun, he's always being put down by everyone in the village, we're probably the only stores that actually serve him willingly."

Teuchi's face grew fgrim as he shook his head, "Bastards, calling a child as pleasant as Naruto a monster...why if it weren't for the Sandaime's law I'd!"

Kuwabara nodded, sensing that he may have inadvertantly found a lead.

Deciding to milk this source for as much as his wallet could afford, the lanky teen smiled at Ayame, ordering another bowl of Ramen.

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Genkai scowled as the door to their apartment closed behind Kuwabara.

"You're late." She muttered, putting her book away, frowning at the teen.

The lanky teen winced at the look and rubbed his head, he HAD spent a biut longer at the ramen stand than he'd intended, but the food had been that good.

"Sorry, sensei, but I may have found somethin'."

Genkai raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Kuwabara wasn't the brightest bulb around, but even in their native village of Reigakure he was known to have the devil's own luck, if there was one thing Genkai had come to learn, it was that if Kuwabara thought he'd found something, it would most likely turn out to be the gold at the end of the rainbow.

"What did you learn?" the elderly jounin asked, sitting back in her chair. Kuwabara nodded.

"The kid's name's Uzumaki Naruto; everyone in town either fears him or hates him, 'cept for a select few."

He stretched, "Turns out he was born on the night of the Kyuubi attack, and there's a whole bunch of taboos concerning him."

Genkai raised an eyebrow, "Taboos?"

Kuwabara's face grew sour, as if he'd just swallowed an onion smoothie, topped with lemon.

"Things like, despite official laws against harming him, not allowing him into stores, selling him the worst food and equipment…"

The teen snorted, "I could go on, but then I'd really need to hit something, preferably some of the villagers around here."

Genkai sighed, understanding the teens sentiment.

'That rat Yondaime…why on earth did he seal Kyuubi into a child…'

Kuwabara snorted, "If you'll excuse me sensei, I'm hittin' th' sack."

Genkai nodded, and was about to go back to reading her book, but was surprised when the teen placed a delivery box in front of her.

"It's a peace offering to apologise for being late."

Genkai eyed the deliverly box with mild interest.

"Ichiraku ramen?" she muttered, looking up at the teen, Kuwabara nodded.

"The place is supposed to have the best Ramen in town," he smirked, "and they sure as hell live up to it!"

Genkai chuckled and waved the boy off to bed, snapping the chopsticks apart and digging in.

'That boy really does have a lot of surprises.'

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Naruto panted, straining against the sheer magnitude of the weight he was carrying, before he lost his footing and fell face first into the ground.

'And Lee carried this stuff around all day?!' he wondered, 'I have a better appreciation for the guy now.'

Pulling himself to his feet again, Naruto proceeded with Gai's special training regimen: 500 laps around Konoha, followed by 1000 sit-ups, 1500 squats, 2000 punches, and 2500 kicks, all before dawn.

'I'll do this…for Lee…and for Hinata.'

** I thought you hated everyone in this village? **Kyuubi said humorously.

Naruto snorted, Everyone but my special people…though I'll admit, I never expected them to go beyond four people. 

** So tell me, kit... **The ancient fox said, oddly serious.

**Who exactly is it you have deemed worthy of protection? **

Naruto, not breaking his pace, thought back over everything that had happened, and everyone he knew.

The Hokage: his silent benefactor since birth.

Iruka: His surrogate brother.

Old man Ichiraku and Ayame: The only two people kind to him in the whole village.

Sasuke: His teammate and first friend.

Kakashi: His perverted Mentor.

Zabuza: A cool, aloof, yet loyal friend.

Haku: So much like him it almost hurt.

Konohamaru and his friends: His loyal 'subordinates', and self claimed fans.

Lee: Someone else who got where he is through sheer determination.

Hinata…

Naruto frowned, visualising the poor girl being thrashed by her so called 'protector', and her own cousin no less!

Neji will pay…I swore on it! 

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Gai was shocked when Naruto not only finished the training course, a good hour before dawn, but asked the Taijutsu specialist if he could double the weights the blonde used.

Needless to say, the fact the teen repeated the request half a day later sent the poor jounin into raptures.

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Hyuuga Hiashi sat in his private study, staring at a picture of his wife as he finished some important documents.

He kept flashing back to what Hinata said as she lay in the hospital, before Naruto arrived.

Flash back

"_Are you alright, daughter?" he asked, looking her over with his Byakugan, just to be sure. Hinata nodded, weakly, still tired._

"_Hai…Otou-sama."_

_Hiashi nodded, "I heard you lost to Neji in the preliminaries, don't feel ashamed, he is called the greatest genius in our family for a reason, you know."_

_Hinata nodded, looking up at the ceiling, causing Hiashi to frown._

_"Is something the matter, Hinata?"_

_The shy heiress shook her head against the pillow, a look of confused contentment on her face._

_"When…I blacked out…There was this light…a woman's voice called out."_

_Closing her eyes and sighing, Hinata smiled softly._

_"It was Kaa-sans voice…she kept calling my name…then there was a flash of red, and I was in Naruto-kun's arms…"_

_The girl flushed at this, looking away from her father and Sister._

_Hanabi looked at her sister in confusion._

_'Kaa-san?'_

End Flash back

Hiashi couldn't help but ponder at this little dilemma, but one thing had become certain; ever since that fight at the tower, Hinata had begun to become a lot more self confident, rarely stuttering unless the blonde genin's name was mentioned.

'As a father, I feel I owe this boy my support in the upcoming exams…'

The man sighed, shaking his head at the irony.

'But as the head of the Hyuuga family, I cannot be seen supporting my nephew's opponent.'

Finishing the last of the documents, Hiashi sighed and stood, moving towards his room.

'I am sorry Arashi…but family must come first, no matter the issue.'

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Well now...isn't this an interesting new wrinkle?!

will Naruto master the Goken-ryu?!

Will Hinata actually find the nerve to exppress her feelings?!

Just what s happening to our beloived Hyuuga heiress?!

And why the heck are all my sentances ending in '?!' ?!

Send your reviews as per the norm to find out!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve.

The day of the Chunin entrance exams rolled up quickly, so fast it was if the weeks flew past like wind tossed leaves.

Sakura sat in the front row of the stadium, next to Ino and Choji, who had been released form the hospital, and was currently on his third pack of diet chips.

"Sasuke-kun's going to win hands down!" the two chanted, arm in arm and a large, 'We love Sasuke-kun' Banner raised in the air. Choji wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

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Hinata sat next to Kiba, who'd offered to escort her there, since she was still technically unfit to leave the hospital, and was looking at the arena, where most of the competitors had already gathered.

Naruto was nowhere in sight, but that didn't seem to bother the heiress much, as she place a hand to her chest.

'Naruto-kun...you'll be here...I know it.'

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Sarutobi sighed as he looked over the scene, clearly upset.

'Sasuke is absent too…what the hell are you doing, Kakashi?'

Looking over at the Kazekage, he scowled, remembering the strange letter he'd received the other day from a VERY familiar face.

'So Sunagakure thinks they can catch us off guard eh?' he smirked wryly.

'Not when their supposed 'ally' is only pretending to be a missing Nin.'

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The Kazekage felt the Hokage's knowing glare and began to sweat, worried that the plan may be discovered, until the older Kage smiled and offered him a peanut.

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"Ohayo, Sakura-san." Lee greeted, as he hobbled over on his crutches. Gai stood behind him, like a sentinel, ready to cart his ward back to hospital should the need arise.

"Have the matches started yet?"

Just as the kunoichi was about to answer, there was a swirl of leaves, which blinded everyone down in the arena.

When it cleared, Naruto stood next to a startled Hyuuga Neji.

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The Naruto in the stadium was a lot different from the Naruto everyone saw at the tower though; His sleeveless coat remained, but he wore what appeared to be the upper half of one of Gai's infamous green leotards, his hands were bandaged and he appeared to be wearing bracers on both arms, both of which looked toned up through the skin-tight green fabric.

His leggings were still the standard Shinobi black, but he was wearing leg bracers as well as his normal shinobi sandals.

Also, his hair had gotten longer, that it had to be tied in a small ponytail, and if anyone bothered to look closely, he was reading the third in the 'Famous Shinobi throughout history and their achievements' series.

However, the most startling thing was that, even though he was standing right next to Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy could barely feel his presence.

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Naruto turned the page in his book wth an almost bored expression on his face, before looking up at the senbon chewing Shinobi Aoba, cocking an eyebrow.

"Am I late?"

Aoba snorted at the obviously rhetorical question.

"Actually, you're right on time." he smirked, "You were cutting it pretty close though."

If this stateent bothered the blonde at all he didn't show it, and so Aoba turned around and faced the audience, clearing his throat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Chunin selection exam finals are about to begin!"

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As the roars of the crowd filled the Arena, Naruto ran an analytical eye over the competitors, noticing that two were missing, namely Dosu and Sasuke.

'The sound guy I could care less about…but where the hell is Sasuke?' the blonde muttered, trying to get a feelon his teammates chakra. when his search came up empty he snorted.

'Kakashi-sensei better not have passed his tardiness traits on to him.'

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"The first Round will be Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji," Aoba called out addressing both the crowd and the contenders.

"Contestants to the centre, all others, please leave the arena via the exits.."

As the other chunin hopefuls made their way to the exits, Naruto marked his place and put away his book, eyeing his opponent opponent carefully.

Neji didn't appear to have changed much since he and Hinata fought a month ago, though he seemed to have gone up a level or two if the chakra Naruto sensed was any indication.

** Remember, Jyuken relies on close range combat, so keep the battle ranged and you shouldn't have a problem. **

Naruto nodded, feeling his knuckles pop as he clenched a fist.

No point in holding back here…I'm going all out. 

The fox chuckled, amused.

** Just don't push yourself too far…even my chakra won't help if you kill yourself. **

Naruto snorted, then moved into a Goken ready stance.

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Up in the stands Lee's eyes widened in surprise, at the blonde's pose.

"Naruto-kun! That's my"

"Yes Lee," Gai said, placing his hand on his student's shoulder, causing the boy to look up.

"After coming to visit you, Naruto begged me to help him train for this fight, and he gave me a man's promise that, after he defeats Neji…he will wait for the day you recover."

The Taijutsu specialist smiled at his 'cute' pupil.

"Do you remember what he promised you?"

Lee blinked, confused, before he felt his eyes widen in rememberance.

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'…_but I swear, once you've recovered, you and I will definitely fight, one on one, in a man's fight._'

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"Naruto-kun…"

The recovering genin shook with suppressed tears, clenching a fist. "I will remember that promise! Once my body has healed, we shall battle like Eternal rivals!"

Gai smiled at his student, before eyeing the two in the arena.

"Neji…Naruto…Fight hard, both of you…"

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Neji scoffed at the blonde's form, smirking derisively.

"So you're imitating Lee as well, are you?", he mocked, hardly impressed.

"You're as bad as Uchiha Sasuke, monkeying around, copying every skill you can get your grubby little mitts on,"

The Hyuga prodigy smirked at the teen, the very image of superiority.

"Scrabbling in the dirt…at least Uchiha is a survivor, you on the other hand…fate did not smile on you the day I became your opponent."

Naruto snorted and didn't answer, causing Neji's smirk to grow.

"What's the matter, afraid?"

"No, just wondering if it hurts." Naruto replied smoothly, face neutral.

Neji frowned, obviously confused.

"Does what hurt?"

At this Naruto's face changed to a grin that Mitarashi Anko would be jealous of.

"You having a three foot Kunai perpetually shoved up your ass."

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Up in the stands, Kiba burst out laughing, holding his stomach, whilst Hinata flushed scarlet.

"Good one Naruto!" the boy roared, holding his sides and trying not to fall headfirst over the railing. Hinata merely turned a deeper shade oifmagenta and tried to get the image out of her mind.

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Neji however, was not amused inj the slightest.

"Byakugan!" he yelled, activating his bloodline limit, and moving into the Jyuken stance.

Naruto's smirk grew more serious, as he took a precautionary step backwards.

"Calling out the big guns early huh?" he closed his eyes, "Well I'm ready for it."

As Neji blinked in confusion, Naruto's eyes shot open, blazing red.

"Kyugan!"

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Neji, along with Hyuuga Hiashi, winced at this, both not expecting the boy's sudden change in eye colour.

Hyuuga Hanabi tugged on her father's sleeve, her face the picture of puzzlement.

"Tou-sama…what's that?"

Hiashi shook his head, just as off guard as his child was.

"I don't know Hanabi…perhaps it's a Kekkei Genkai that he's never used before."

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Sakura stared at her blonde team-mate in surprise, 'Since when could Naruto do that?!' she wondered, yet again confused by the walking enigma that was her team-mate.

She wasn't the only one, though various adults in the audience were muttering darkly at the obvious refereance the boy's 'tennant'.

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'Thanks to Gai-sensei, I can activate the fourth stage at will now…but it takes a while to get used to…something I wish I had a lot more of.'

He glared at Neji, his eyes picking up the slightest movement of from the boy, from the blinking of his eyes, to the loose strands of hair being blown in by the breeze.

'At least I'll be able to see how this damn 'gentle-fist' style works.'

And with that last thought, Naruto suddenly blurred out of view.

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'He's coming form above…to the right!' Neji dodged and moved strike, only to be surprised as he struck a log instead.

As he recovered from his shock, something moved just to his left, shooting towards him like a wrecking ball.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

The Hyuuga blocked quickly, moving with the kick to lessen the damage, before flipping to his feet, to see Naruto once again in the Goken ready stance.

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"What was that about fate not smiling?" Naruto asked, smirking at the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Perhaps it's because Lady luck likes me better?"

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Neji snorted, amused at his brief error in judgement.

'But of course…Naruto isn't limited to Taijutsu alone like Lee…' The genius thought, before he charged forwards, aiming for the blonde's heart.

'Regardless! His skills won't have developed to match Lee's in just a month!'

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As if mocking him, Naruto dodged the Hyuuga's strike and threw a flurry of punches that were meant to distract, whilst avoiding Neji's attempts to close his tenketsu.

However, the older Genin managed to land a glancing clip on the shoulder, sending searing pain up and down the blonde's entire arm.

With a yelp, the blonde backflipped, holding his shoulder to lessen the pain.

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Damn! Feels like I was stabbed by a kunai! 

Naruto leapt back again, eyeing the older teen warily from a safer distance. The Hyuuga had moved back into his ready stance and was smirking softly, the epitome of calm.

Naruto snorted, 'What the hell is with this guy...is it physically impossible for a Hyuuga to look anything other than dignified?'

He winced at the pain in his shoulder, feeling the healing red chakra surge through it a lot slower than he'd prefer.

When they say it's the strongest style in Konoha…they weren't kidding! he muttered.

** But you did manage to see how he released his chakra…right? **

Naruto snorted, noting the Fox's uncertainty.

Yeah, but it'll do me no good until I unlock the fifth stage…which I doubt will happen any time soon. 

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Standing up and rotating his stiff shoulder, Naruto looked at Neji, trying not to show his discomfort.

"Not bad, you winded me there for a second."

Neji made a derogatory sound in his throat, not fooled for a second by the blonde's bravado.

"Say what you will, destiny has decided that I shall win this fight."

Naruto scowled at the teen, feeling his eyebrow begining to twitch.

"What is it with you and this entire destiny shit?" He growled, looking the older teen over.

"I mean, knew the Hyuuga's were the most reclusive clan in Konoha but I didn't take them for a bunch of Emo-freaks."

Neji scowled, deciding to put the 'emo-freak' asiude for the moment.

"You read those shinobi history books, don't you?"

Naruto snorted, not seeing the point.

"Yeah, but I haven't reached the Hyuuga section yet…I don't think they're even in this volume." He patted his equipment pouch.

Neji frowned, then stood out of his stance, reaching for his hitai-ate.

"Then listen well, and I shall tell you of the Hyuuga family's legacy of fear and hatred!"

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Naruto felt a shiver go up his spine as he watched Neji replace his Hitai-ate.

Okay…Hinata's family is officially fucked up. Naruto thought.

After hearing Neji's tale, the blonde came to understand just why it was that Hinata's cousin was such an ass, he could almost relate to him in a way.

** Coming from the boy with a demon sealed in his navel, that means a lot. **Kyuubi said coyly, causing Naruto to smirk internally.

Shut up, you know you love me. 

** Like the brother I never had. **Kyuubi replied, chuckling.

Naruto's smirk widened, as he cracked his neck joints.

Well then Aniki, shall we ask this guy to dance? 

** I prefer women...though with that hair… **

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Naruto snorted, ignoring the shot at Neji's appearance, watching as the teen finished placing his Hitai-ate back on.

"So what, you expect me to give up just because your family has dominance issues?"

Neji scowled, not expecting such a reaction, clearly he hadn't gotten through to the blonde.

"I expect you to understand that destiny is like a cage; no one can escape it, only those who are born to be great can achieve great things."

He pointed at the blonde, "You, a loser without a dream or ambition, are doomed to failure."

Naruto rubbed his nose with his free hand, clearly unimpressed.

"I think that seal's affecting your brain right now, I swear you're repeating yourself."

Neji's face darkened like a thundercloud.

"Fine then, I'll show you the strength of Destiny."

Getting into a different stance, the Hyuuga prodigy glared at Naruto.

"It's over; you are within my field of Hakke."

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Hyuuga Hiashi winced as his nephew completed the main branches legendary divine palms-64 strikes technique, sending his blonde opponent soaring backwards.

'He truly is the greatest genius of the clan…perhaps Hizashi should have been made the branch head instead.'

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Hyuuga Hinata winced as her cousin sent Naruto flying, before beginning to cough, blood covering her small hand.

"Hinata!" Kiba yelped, looking around for a medic.

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"You can no longer draw on your chakra; I have closed your tenketsu."

Naruto gasped for breath, trying to block out the Hyuuag's superior tone.

'Damn…even glancing blows are lethal!'

He pulled himself to his knees, the effort making him wince in pain.

'If this keeps up…I won't last long.'

** Shall I lend a hand? **Kyuubi asked, worried.

Naruto considered it for the briefest of moments, then shook his head.

If I keep relying on you aniki, then I won't have kept my promise to Lee. 

Reaching down and pushing himself to his feet, Naruto brought his hands into the ram seal.

'Time to lose a few pounds.'

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Dispelling the jutsu on his bracers, Naruto felt himself become much lighter, as he sighed in relief.

This did not go unnoticed by Neji, who frowned at the expression on the blonde's face.

"What happened there?"

"Nothing much, just dispelled the weight jutsu on my bracers." Naruto hopped form foot to foot, letting his muscles relax and stretch.

"I usually have as much as Lee uses in total, on each limb."

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Neji's eyes widened, knowing full well that Lee's leg weights weighed as much as two tonnes all together. Therefore, if what Naruto said was true, that hewore that much on all four of his limbs, it meant the blonde was wearing at least eight tonnes!

The Hyuuga shook himself, shock giving way to the patented Hyuuga look of superiority.

"Regardless, you can no longer summon your chakra, this match is-"

"Just beginning." Naruto whispered, right in the Hyuuga's ear.

Neji spun, only to receive an uppercut to the chin that sent him flying.

'So fast!' he wondered, landing quickly and activating his Byakugan, 'But against this, he has no escape.'

"Relying on you blood-limit is a mistake I intend to make you pay for."

Naruto's voice echoed out throughout the arena, making it hard to locate him.

"Every strength has a weakness…and the Byakugan can't be any different."

Neji smirked, "Regardless, a loser like you can never find it."

"I swear if you go on another of your, 'I'm destinies whiny little bitch' reels again I'm going to slap you one." Naruto growled, appearing behind Neji with a spin kick aimed for his head.

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Kiba had collapsed due to a laughing fit, and was currently being looked over by an ANBU that was on hand.

Hinata, having already been treated, was flushed beetroot at the blondes comment.

'Naruto-kun…Neji-niisan…'

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Naruto dodged a Jyuken strike aimed at his solar plexus and slammed his heel into Neji's cheek, the loss of his weights had given him a greater dodging ability, and he was slowly wearing the older genin down.

Neji lunged forward to attack, when he felt something tug on his ankle.

The next second, over a hundred shuriken, each attached to exploding tags, darted at him from the trees, at point blank.

"A true Ninja uses his surroundings to his advantage, another 'Loser' taught me that one!" Naruto yelled, smirking.

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Shikamaru sniffed at the 'loser' comment, whilst Yusuke and Kuwabara were cheering the blonde on.

"You tell 'im kid!" Kuwabara yelled, leaning over the railing, "Wipe that smug smile of 'is face!"

"Yeah, show what it means to be the under-dog!" Yusuka added, waving a fist in the air.

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Neji smirked and twisted his body a split second before the Kunai reached him.

"KAITEN!"

There was a flash of blue, and suddenly, all the kunai were deflected away from the Hyuuga.

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'What the hell?!' Naruto yelped as he barely dodged the following explosion, the end of his coat singed.

'That move was off the scale! How'd he do that?!'

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"The divine shell, Kaiten, an impenetrable dome of chakra that protects me from danger."

Neji smirked, the upper hand being his once again.

"You surprised me before…it will not happen a second time."

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Neji lived up to his words, no matter what trick Naruto used, the dome of Chakra blocked all the blonde's efforts.

'Crunch time here…running low on chakra…' he swallowed a soldier pill.

Get ready Aniki, this one's gonna hurt. 

Crossing his arms in front of him, Naruto prepared to unlock the chakra gates.

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Up in the stands Lee's eyes widened as he recognised what his friend was doing.

'Naruto must be desperate! He's going to damage his own body to beat Neji!'

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Roaring as he unlocked four of the gates, Naruto glared at his opponent, as the tremendous chakra that the gates sealed off blazed around him.

What shocked many however was that the chakra was not the usual blue, but rather a blue intertwined with flashes of red.

"Get ready…dickhole."

Neji braced himself as Naruto lunged forwards like a bat out of hell, already beginning the Kaiten.

To his great surprise, the Naruto outside exploded into smoke as soon as it touched the barrier.

'Nani?!' the genius wondered, completely caught off guard at the sight.

"Kage bunshin?! But I sealed your tenketsu!"

"A ninja sees beneath the underneath…so you really should have been watching your feet." Naruto's voice called out.

Neji's eye's widened as a foot shot out of the ground, connecting with his chin and sending him skyward, cutting off the Kaiten in Mid-spin.

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"Initial lotus!" Naruto cried out, pushing off the floor with his hands, "Uzumaki Naruto style!"

"Ichibi!" he rose in the air, kicking the Hyuuga repeatedly in the chin, much like Lee had with Gaara, before bouncing to the wall.

Launching off the wall he created a bunshin that leapt up and kicked the prodigy into the air along with him.

"Nibi!"

With a cry of "Sanbi!" he and two bunshins leapt at him, juggling Neji's body like a volleyball, before it fell to the ground.

"Yonbi!"

Four bunshins slid across the ground and kicked Neji back into the air.

"Gobi!"

Five bunshins darted through the air slamming into the teen as they passed.

"Rokubi!"

Six Bunshins uppercuted the teen again, causing him to soar higher.

"Shibi!"

Seven bunshins kicked him in the back, sending him higher once more.

"Hachibi!"

Eight Bunshin dropkicked him in the stomach, sending him spiralling down towards the ground, before dissapearing in a puff of smoke.

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As Neji watched the ground hurtling towards him, the real Naruto became visible, using Lee's Kagebuyo to travel in the Hyuuga's shadow.

"This is for Hinata." Naruto whispered into the stricken teen's ear.

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Spinning around rapidly, Naruto performed the final blow of the Ura-renge within ten feet of the ground, ramming the Hyuuga into the ground with a roar.

"Kyuubi Rendan!"

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A hush fell over the stands as the Blonde's words sank in.

'Kyuubi Rendan…the nine-tails barrage…'

Gai stared at the teen in wonder, 'Was that what he meant by a new technique?'

He shook his head, 'Lee couldn't perform that, since he can't mould enough chakra for Kage bunshin"

The jounin shivered, "…even I may have a hard time of it."

He looked down at his pupil, who to his surprise was cheering at the blonde.

"SUGOI! Sensei, did Naruto develop that on his own?! His youthful passion has definitely been put to good use under your training!"

Of course, this set Gai off on another of his crying spiels, as he and Lee embraced in a sight so sweet it caused teeth, and brain cells, to rot.

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Hyuuga Hiashi however, was shocked to the very core of his being.

'A move like that should have crippled him, yet he appears to be unharmed…could he be channelling the Kyuubi's chakra?'

He felt a shiver go up his spine, smiling to himself.

'Without a doubt...Uzumaki Naruto is definitely worth investing the clan's interest in.'

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Naruto gasped for breath has he stood over the crater he'd made with Neji's body.

"Oy…you dead down there?" he panted, half expecting it to be true.

To his mild relief, a weakened groan was his answer.

"You're alive then…good." He knelt next to Neji and began making seals.

'Ram, horse, ram, monkey, ram, tiger, dragon, snake.'

"Ninpou: Shinrei Shujutsu!"

He placed his glowing hands on Neji's chest and began healing the teen's broken body.

"Normally, I'd leave you here to rot…but I'm not the type to hold a grudge against someone who's never hurt me before…but the only reason I'm doing this is that I'm pretty certain Hinata would be upset if you died."

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Neji looked at the blonde as he felt his body slowly begining to mend itself, regardless of the damage.

'What...jutsu is this?'

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Naruto flinched as he felt his eyes twinge, and then smirked as the Hyuuga's internal organs became visible, lined with dim streams of chakra.

'The fifth stage just activated…that'll make the healing go by faster.'

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Focusing on the Hyuuga's muscles and organs, Naruto pumped enough healing chakra into the teen to make it seem like the injuries were never there.

"Why...are you healing me?" Neji asked, confused as hell.

"I am...your opponent."

Naruto snorted and ignored the teen for a moment, before looking at him form the corner of his eye.

"Even after I heal you, you're out of chakra, and you'll probably pass out once I finish."

He grinned, "As to why…you're a bastard, but your also a Konoha shinobi…and I don't like killing a comrade even if they are bastards."

Neji frowned as the teen continued, then felt his eyes getting heavy.

Before the prodigy passed out, he felt Naruto tap his forehead.

"Oy, don't pass out on me yet."

The blonde grinned at the Hyuuga, amking him feel uneasy for some reason.

"I'll make you a deal, you apologise to Hinata, and I'll try to find a way to get that tattoo of your forehead."

He smirked at the expression on the older boy's face, and elaborated.

"I believe it's cruel to cage birds, they belong in the sky."

Those were the last words a startled Neji heard before he passed out from exhaustion.

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Up in the Hokage booth, the Sandaime smirked.

'He used the terrain to his advantage, ensured that Neji couldn't time his moves, and used psychological stimuli to throw Neji off…'

He nodded to himself, clearly impressed.

'I do believe we have a fine Chunin in the making.'

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Walking up the steps to the fighter's booth, Naruto smirked at Shikamaru.

"And that, my friend, is that."

The lazy genin shivered, definitely put out by the fight in the arena.

'I really don't feel like fighting this guy…' he muttered, looking over at the other opponents.

'Or any of these guys come to think of it…'

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Kurama frowned and nodded at Kuwabara, the two sharing the same thought.

'He's definitely the vessel of the nine-tails.' the communed to the other two members, via sign language.

Or they would have, if Yusuke hadn't already jumped into the Arena when the blonde had entered.

"Hey, get down here will ya?! I'd like to get this match started!"

Gaara sniffed, and moved down the steps, taking his time.

'Baka…he's not worth feeding to the sand.'

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By the time Gaara had reached the arena, Yusuke had been warned about his language three times, and was still hurling obscenities through the air like kunai.

"Took ya long enough, that gourd on your back must weigh a good tonne."

Gaara snorted and immediately began hurling sand at his opponent, hoping to end this farce as quickly as possible.

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Yusuke: Man, I always hated going to the beach, the sand gets in everywhere, and the food sucked. Now I gotta fight a guy that uses sand as a weapon and has more issues than that girl from the ring!

Gaara: Sabaku-Kyuu!

Yusuke: Holy! You trying ta kill me?!

Kurama: (laughs weakly) Thast IS the poiunt Yusuke...

Next time on Naruto Gaiden! The second round of the torunament!

Gaara: I shall feed your blood to the sands.

R&R!


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the wait guys, college really is a B"ch...

Anyewwho, on with the show!

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Chapter Thirteen

'What the heck?'

Naruto watched in confusion asYusuke dodged all of Gaara's sand attacks, seeming to rely on pure taijutsu, albeitly rather impressive ones, the teen seeming to perform double jumps in mid-air at times.

'Is dodging all this guy's good at?' the blonde muttered, watching as the reinin backflipped out of the way yet again.

** Look again, **Kyuubi prompted,** he's weaving a pattern, trying to make an opening…there! **

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"Gotcha!" Yusuke yelled, aiming a finger at Gaara's torso, the tip glowing with a pale blue light, causing the redhead to blink in surprise.

"Reigun!"

A flash of light emitted from the digit, as what looked like a bolt of pure chakra launched itself at Gaara. The unfortunate Suna Nin only had a few seconds to react before he was slammed into the wall, chips of his sand armour dropping away like broken china as he slumped to the arena floor in a daze.

Yusuke blew on his finger and smirked.

'Oh yeah, that was WAY worth the wait!'

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Naruto sweatdropped, staring in wonder from the smirking reinin to the dazed suna genin.

A technique that strong without hand-seals?! he yelped, That's impossible! 

** Not so, **Kyuubi commented, sounding amused at his outoto's shock,** there are a few out there, though they usually require more control. **

Naruto swore he felt the giant beast sweatdrop, before coughing slightly.

** From the looks of it, that one was simply unrefined power…I'd hazard a guess he can only use it a set amount of times a day... **

Naruto shivered and looked at the reinin in trepidation.

I sure as hell hope you're right, aniki. 

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'Three shots left…' Yusuke muttered as he caught his breath, before shooting Gaara a wary glance as he slowly got to his feet.

'And this guy's still got Chakra…better make 'em count.'

Gaara pulled himself up and scowled at the teen, wiping a trace of blood from his lips.

"That one..." he muttered, eyeing his opponent darkly, "that one actually hurt…"

Yusuke smirked, tapping the side of his head mockingly.

"Well duh!" he shot out, "That's what happens after a direct hit!"

Gaara's scowl deepened, giving Yusuke the creeps with the emotionless bloodlust the redhead seemed to be emitting, before he grinned sadistically.

Yusuke winced at the insane look on the redhead's face, before sensing something moving beneath his feet, namely the ground.

'Shit!' He cursed, leaping into the air and barely avoiding the sand that erupted from where he was standing. A stray tendril wrapped itself around his outstretched leg, tightening before the reinin could wriggle out of it's grip.

Gaara, smirking in satisfaction, raised a hand above his head, causing the sand to hoist a cursing Yusuke higher into the air, before using the sand to slam his opponent into the ground headfirst.

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"Ouch," Kuwabara muttered, wincing at the sight, "Urameshi'll be feelin' that tomorrow.'

Kurama nodded solemnly, before casting an emerald gaze over the combatants below.

"It doesn't appear as if Gaara has complete control of the sand though," the redheaded reinin commented, "Yusuke COULD use that to his advantage..."

He winced as the reinin's yelps of pain from being sent skyward courtesy of sand airlines.

"If he slows down to think things through..." Kurama amended, sweatdropping slightly.

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Naruto looked at the two conversing reinin's and frowned.

Those two… he commented carefully, eyeing the redhead in particular, I've never heard of a hidden spirit village…have you? 

** It's where I was born. **Kyuubi replied simply, causing Naruto's eyes to widen in shock.

Your…hometown?! the blonde yelped, before shooting the two genin a wary look.

Aniki, he asked cautiously, are they demons too? 

Kyuubi chuckled lightly at the concern in the blonde's tone and shook his head.

** Not all the residents of Reigakure are demons, **he assured the blonde,** it's just that there are as many demons as humans there. It is also the home of the summon creatures, like Kakashi's dogs or Jiraiya's toads. **

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, before frowning as he thought for a bit.

Wait, if there are things like that there…why hasn't anyone found it? 

Kyuubi chuckled in response, causing the blonde to envsion the demon's vulpine grin hovering behind him teasingly.

** Would it be called a hidden village if you could just walk through the front door? **Kyuubi asked teasingly, his tails wafting behind him in his amusement.

Naruto saw the logic in this and let the fox continue, though he made a mental note to get back at him later...somehow.

** However, **Kyuubi continued,** we demons do not normally walk around the village in our true forms, we tend to take on a human appearance. **

The youko snorted, before shaking his head at the memories.

** It helps save on damages and housing costs...as well as enabling us to get**** closer to our human allies. **

Naruto snorted at this, sending mental image of his deadpan face.

More likely it makes it easier to get along with them, since you don't accidentally step on them. 

Kyuubi had the decency to look affronted at the comment.

** That has only ever happened twice, and it was before my lifetime. **he countered, before chuckling.

** Though you have a point. **

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Smirking at his apparent victory, the blonde eyed the reinin and nodded inquisitively.

So what can you tell me about this lot? 

** What were there names again? **the fox asked, waiting as Naruto thought things over.

Uh…Minamino Kurama…Kuwabara Kazuma…Urameshi Yusuke…and I think the shrimp over there is called Jaganshi Hiei. 

Naruto felt the Foxes curiosity grow, a good sign in regards to information gathering.

** Minamino…that clan is notorious for their thieving skills, as well as their unnatural good looks, even the men are considered extremely beautiful, and are often mistaken for women. **

I gathered that much. Naruto snickered, remembering the red heads fight with Kabuto's team-mate, before allowing Kyuubi to continue.

** They're also masters of plant based techniques; the smallest blade of grass is as deadly as a sabre in their hands…I'd keep away form the surrounding plant life if I were you…or use Fire jutsus to limit his field of influence. **

Naruto nodded, filing those useful tidbits away for future reference.

And the others? he asked, waiting as Kyuubi thought for a moment.

** The name Kuwabara doesn't ring any important bells…the only match I have is a Jounin called Shizuru. Her Chakra control was legendary, as well as her unflappable attitude. **

The fox looked through his outoto's eyes to regard the reinin carefully.

** My guess is they're part of a small family, rather than a clan. **he muttered, before snorting in amusement.

** As for Urameshi…I'm certain that the Yondaime Reikage's wife's maiden name was that…so this must be his son. **

Naruto looked at the teen who was swearing up a storm as he decked Gaara with a roundhouse kick, followed by an uppercut.

…he doesn't look that special to me. he muttered, earning a snort from the fox within.

** Raizen's bloodline tend to have an insurmountable will to succeed, as well as fierce tempers…he'll win this fight if it kills him. **

Naruto snorted, before looking over his shoulder at the last of the reinin finalists.

And short pants over there? 

** He's probably a member of the Jaganshi family, **Kyuubi explained,** one of the clans in Reigakure famous for having two Kekkei Genkai. **

Naruto stared at the teen, who continued to ignore him in favor of the match.

How can they have two? he wondered, Is it some sort of defect? 

** The bloodline affects the family differently, depending on Gender. **Kyuubi explained, noding his head as he went along,** The males receive a third eye on their forehead, called the Jagan or evil eye. **

Naruto winced at the name but said nothing, allowing the demon to continue.

** It can give the user telepathic powers, can track anything, hide a person's presence, and even control the weak minded…an effective tracking and assassination tool. **

Naruto whistled and eyed the short teen with minor awe, before shaking his head as his tennant continued.

** The women receive the ability to reproduce without the need for intercourse, **Kyuubi added, snorting slightly,** which is fortunate, since the clan has a higher birth rate of girls than boys…in fact, last I heard, most of the men were killed during a slaughter…he's probably the last one. **

Must make him feel special. Naruto snorted, eyeing the teen carefully.

** Perhaps, **the youko conceded,** the women are also reputed to produce valuable gems from their tears, which explains the clan's abundant wealth. **

Naruto nodded, before realising said teen was glaring at him with the coldest red eyes he'd ever encountered.

'Damn,' he muttered, supressing a shiver as he broke away from Hiei's glare, 'and I thought Sasuke was cold…but this guy…'

He shook himself, before turning his attention back to the match.

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Kurama…That kid's been watching us. Kuwabara muttered mentally, his team-mate to nod in reply.

Can you sense anything? the redhead asked his lanky team-mate, not breaking his gaze from the fight below.

Kuwabara frowned, and closed his eyes.

I sense…a sealed presence. he muttered, shaking his head slightly, Like there are two minds in his head... 

Feh, your probably delusional. A familiar voice cut in, causing Kuwabara's face to flash red with rage.

Kuso chibi! he shirieked, Get th' hell outta my head!!!! 

Feh, Hiei muttered, like I'd enter if I wanted to…or you could stop me. 

Kurama sighed as Kuwabara attempted to strangle the air in front of him in an attempt to calm down.

'This mission is getting more interesting by the second.' the redhead muttered, smiling at the thought of a challenge.

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Gaara looked up from the task of pounding his opponent to lock gazes with the Kazekage, who was glaring at him in barely restrained anger.

'Tou-san…' he muttered emotionlessly, before shaking himself, remembering the plan, and getting ready to put thinbgs in motion.

Yusuke however was charging towards him, another Reigun primed on his gloing finger.

"Dodge this Bitch!" the teen yelled, pointing his finger at Gaara's chest, ready to fire a point-blank shot right at the redhead.

"I forfeit." Gaara kuttered, a deadpan expression on his face.

Yusuke was so caught of guard by the sand genin's surrender that he barely managed to move his hand before he fired. So instead of decapitating Gaara; which ahd been the teen's original intention the blast caused the reinin to go flying backwards as a massive crater was formed in the arena floor.

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Genkai rubbed her eyes as she shook her head in exasperation.

'Baka,' she muttered, eyeing her star pupil in annoyance, 'pointing at his own feet…'

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When the little Botan cherubs cleared form his sight, Yusuke stood up and began ranting up a storm.

"What's the deal man! We've only just started!!!" he yelled, getting right up in a starlted Gaara's face.

"We are too evenly matched," the redhead muttered, wiping spittle off his shoulders, "your attacks can be deflected with a wall of sand…likewise, you seem able to predict my attacks ahead of me.

He pointed at the sun overhead and frowned, looking annoyed.

"At this rate we'll be at this all day…and I have things to do."

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Sandaime Sarutobi nodded, frowning carefully as he eyed his younger counterpart out the corner of his eye.

'Like the invasion of my village.' he muttered, before shaking his head and nodding in satisfaction.

"Regardless, a true squad leader has to know when to retreat…Gaara would make a fine one.'

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Temari looked over at Gaara as he used Suna-shunshin to reappear back in the waiting area.

"You're up next…make it look good." Gaara muttered, moving to sit down and recover some of his chakra. Temari nodded and, using her fan, soared into the arena.

"Shrimp, you're up." Kuwabara said over his shoulder, before letting out a muffled yelp as Hiei used his head as a springboard, launching himself into the ring.

"Sorry, didn't see you there." Hiei said, grinning darkly, whilst Kuwabara swore various threats at the teen's manhood, most of which involved rusted kitchen utensils.

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Hiashi sighed as he covered his younger daughter's ears for what must have been the umpteenth time that day.

'Youths today,' he muttered, 'such language.'

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Temari looked at her diminutive oponent and snorted, shaking her head mockingly.

"I'm surprised they let you out here," she goaded, "shouldn't you still be in diapers?"

Hiei didn't respond, other than to scowl at the girl, causing Temari to grin before continuing with her tactic.

"Awww whats'a matter," she drawled, leaning over slightly, "gonna cry?"

Hiei grinned suddenly, red eyes lighting up with dark humour.

"You are…that's for certain."

Temari frowned and whipped her fan out, deciding to wipe the smug look off the teen's face.

"Ninpou: Kama-itachi!"

The wind roared towards her opponent, tearing up the grass as it did; before it hit though, Hiei simply smirked, before disappearing from view.

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"What the-?!" Temari began, before freezing as she felt the business end of a katana pressed against her throat.

"I suggest you surrender," Hiei warned, a small smirk on hs lips, "unless, off course, you desire to learn to breathe with a slashed windpipe..."

Temari tried to reply, without nicking herself on the blade, but still managed to cut herself as she nodded.

"Winner due to surrender," Aoba muttered, "Hiei Jaganshi."

Hiei released the blonde kunoichi, before licking the blood off the edge of his katana and smirking.

"A positive…my favourite."

Temari, now officially freaked, backed away quickly.

'First that blonde horror…now this guy…I'm having second thoughts about this mission!'

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Hiei flitted back to the waiting stands ahead of the shaken kunoichi, and grinning at her as she stumbled past, trying not to look at him.

"Was that really necessary, Hiei?" Kurama asked, leaning against the wall next to him, prompting the shorter Nin to snort.

"No…I could have killed her," he scolwed and looked out at the arena, "but we were told to keep a low profile."

Kurama sighed, shaking his head in a long-suffering manner.

"You're incorrigible…", he muttered, stopping to listen as the fourth match was announced, "Kuwabara-kun, you're up."

"Alright!" The orange haired teen yelled, "Watch this Urameshi, I'm gonna prove which of us is stronger!"

"Pssh," Yusuke snorted, waving a hand dismissively, "don't trip over your own feet, Kuwabara."

"Nuts ta you Urameshi!" The teen yelled, leaping onto the railing, "You're just upset that your opponent ran away!"

He snickered, sending a smug look over his shoulder at his annoyed teammate.

"And that you nearly shot your own ass off at the last second!"

Yusuke's reply was to punt his lanky teammate into the arena.

"Shut it! Baka!"

Kuwabara pulled his face out of the ground, hurling enough obscenities to cause even several Jonin in the audience to blush…or wince, depending on gender.

At that minute though, there was a swirl of leaves, and Kakashi and Sasuke arrived.

"Ano…sorry about that…are we late?" Kakashi asked, before a salvo of curse words that even Anko blushed at hit his ears.

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Up in the stands, Gai had covered Lee's ears, stating that such vulgar language was not meant for children, whilst Ino and sakura were flushed scarlet.

Orochimaru, disguised as an ANBU was mentally making notes.

'I wonder how much Tsunade would pay for this lot…Kukukuku.'

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Kakashi coughed, getting Kuwabara's attention.

"Pardon the interruption…but your opponent is here."

"Hold yer horses!" Kuwabara yelled, flipping the bird at the duo, "He's made me wait this long, a few seconds won't matter!"

Kakashi was about to argue, when the carrot-topped Nin fired another salvo at his teammate, causing the copy-nin to flush.

'Good kami-sama…another Obito!'

Eventually however, the lanky teen ran out of breath, and as he paused to catch it, the referee seized his chance.

"Round four: Uchiha Sasuke versus Kuwabara Kazuma.!"

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Kuwabara spun round, red in the face at the interuption.

"I wasn't finished yet!" he screeched pointing at the examiner, "Damn it, And I thought of a good one there!"

Sasuke snorted, "Is screeching all you're good at? My team-mate's a lot like that…but at least she has the brains to back up her words."

Kuwabara blinked stupidly, trying to recal who the teen was talking about.

"That pink haired nin's a girl?" He scratched his head, "Coulda sworn it was a dude."

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Sakura face-faulted while Ino burst out in hysterical laughter, inside Sakura's mind, inner-sakura was raging a one man war against an image of Kuwabara, with chainsaws.

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Sasuke snorted, "It would appear so."

Kuwabara shrugged, "Ain't my style to insult women…so I'll apologise to her later for the mistake."

He rotated his shoulder, smirking as the joints popped in readyness.

"Lets dance, punk."

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Ten minutes into the match and Sasuke was starting to sweat. Every trap he'd set had been avoided b the teen, and when it came to hand to hand combat, they seemed to be so evenly matched it wasn't funny.

Sasuke's only advantage seemed to be his speed and faster reflexes; only those had saved him from the teen's vicious blows. The arena was pocked with small craters caused by Kuwabara's fists and feet; it was like watching an Elephant trying to stamp a mouse.

'The only difference being,' Kakashi thought smugly, 'Sasuke is nowhere near as defenceless as a mouse.' He frowned, 'he may have to use IT though…and I don't look forward to Gai's lecture over having him copy Lee's style.'

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Sasuke moved to undo the clasp on his arm, getting ready to put everything he had into this.

"Your strong…I'll give you that…." He addmited to Kuwabara from atop the wall, "but I'm better."

"I heard you before skank!" Kuwabara yelled "Get a move on! Or do I gotta come up there after ya?!"

Sasuke smirked, readying the chakra in his hand.

'oh don't worry…I'm coming down…' he muttered, making seals the neccesary.

'ox, hare, monkey.'

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Kurama frowned, his sharp eyes missing nothing as he watched the Uchiha warily.

'Those seals look very familiar…' he muttered, before his eyes widened.

'It can't be!'

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"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as the chirping of a thousand birds filled the arena, causing Kuwabara to flinch at the energy discharge and the noise.

'Damn…it's that last attack the blonde used at the tower.' he muttered, 'but nowhere near as powerful as the blonde's…guess this is the initial stage huh.'

"Ha!" he scoffed pointing at the Uchiha, "So ya got a firecracker attached to yer fist…so what?"

The lanky teen shrugged dismissively, his eyes closed.

"Doesn't even qualify as a firecracker come to think of it."

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"That boy's a fool…insulting someone with the Chidori in their arsenal." Gai muttered, causing the genin to look at him. "Chidori is considered an A-rank assassination technique."

Looking over his shoulder he nodded at the cycloptic jounin, who was watching the fight impassively.

"It's also Kakashi's sole original technique. Your hand becomes a sword that can pierce through anything…it's just a straight thrust though, so unless your opponent is secured, it's impossible to attack them without the Sharingan."

As he looked at the assorted genin he took in their awed faces and continued, "It's also known as Raikiri, because Kakashi once cut through lightning with it."

Choji nibbled on some chips, "Isn't that what Naruto used on Kiba?"

Inuzuka Kiba blanched at this; if the technique could cut through lightning…Kiba's married life would have been very boring indeed if Naruto had been serious.

Gai nodded, "But add to that the sheer speed required in order to make the technique useable…" his eyes widened, before rounding on his eternal rival with all the rightousness of youth.

"Kakashi! How could you use my training style for your own uses?!?!?!"

Kakashi sighed.

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Sasuke lunged forward, his Sharingan tracking Kuwabara's movement, while the orange haired giant was getting ready to dodge and counter attack.

However, just as Sasuke reached the arena floor, he vanished from view.

'Shit!' Kuwabara yelped, looking round in confusion, 'He's sped up!'

"Too slow!" Sasuke yelled ramming his fist into the teen's chest.

There was a blinding flash of light that caused many to wince and close their eyes.

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Kakashi sighed, shaking his head in dissapointment.

'Sasuke…at any rate you've won…but to let your temper take over like that…'

As the light's dimmed however, a voice called out, causing the jounin to blink.

"Is that it?"

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Sasuke stared in abrupt shock at his hand.

The Chidori had worn off, true, but all the technique did was burn the teen's clothes off over the area that was hit. Kuwabara's upper clothing now sported a plate-sized hole over his heart.

But there was no wound; the skin wasn't even singed.

Kuwabara looked from the startled Uchiha's hand to his face, a scowl covering the lanky teen's own as the seconds ticked by.

"Oy! Quit tryin' ta cop a feel ya sicko! I ain't inta that!"

Sasuke blanched and stumbled backwards, only to be clobbered by a roundhouse punch to the jaw that sent him flying.

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Kakashi's sole visible eye was bulging out of its socket, completely caught off guard.

His technique had never failed…it could cut through lightning for Shodai-sama's sake! But this guy's skin wasn't even singed!

"Surprised?" a voice at knee height called out.

Looking down, the group espied the teen's diminutive sensei smirking at them.

"Kuwabara may be dumb," Genkai muttered, "but he's no weakling, and out of all my students he's the hardest worker."

She snorted, "It's because he wants to beat Yusuke in a one on one fight, something he's yet to achieve, but he keeps coming back for more."

The elkderly sensei smiled at the idiot warmly.

"He spent his first few years on the streets, after his sister disappeared, if it wasn't for Yusuke he'd be dead…so of course, the big lug figures the best way to show his appreciation is to clobber him."

She chuckled, "Men, they're all the same, going through such complex rituals to disguise the fact that they have emotions."

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Kakashi smirked at Gai suggestively, cauysing the taijutsu specialist to twitch, before looking at the woman with his sole eye.

"Excuse me Mrs...?"

"Genkai, MISS Genkai thank you." The Jonin muttered, glaring at them with a look that could freeze hell itself.

Kakashi winced at the glare, pointing at the lanky teen in confusion.

"Ano…how did he do that?"

Genkai snorted, casting a smug look at the copy-nin.

"You weren't here for Yusuke's fight, so you didn't see how he attacks." She chuckled, "That dimwit may be my best student…but he's got the finesse of a sledgehammer, he's pure force no matter what."

Nodding towards Kuwabara she continued, "Kuwabara had to toughen himself up to last any amount of time against him, so much so he's revived a lost art." She smiled, "By accumulating a vast quantity of energy, you can make it so your skin is tougher than steel…it's like those old tales of people who could sleep on a bed of knives."

She chuckled, shaking her head at the irony.

"Thing is…Kuwabara doesn't know how he does it, but his Chakra control is the best I've seen…" she sighed, "Now if only he'd be a little more imaginative."

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Kuwabara growled as Sasuke dodged his punches yet again.

'Dammit! At this rate, he'll outlast me…gotta pull out the stops!'

Swiping a kick at the Uchiha, Kuwabara grinned as the teen hovered in the air, before clenching his fist.

"Reiton: Reiken!"

To the shock of the crowd, what appeared to be a sword of pure chakra appeared in the teen's hands, which Kuwabara used to swat the Uchiha prodigy out of mid-air.

"Dodging like a fly's only gonna get ya clobbered." He mocked, tapping the blade against his shoulder, smirking like the cat that got the canary.

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Genkai looked interested for the first time since the match started.

"Impressive," she muttered, "he used to only be able to do that by channelling his chakra into kunai…seems he's taken his skills to the next level."

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Hyuuga Hiashi stared at the weapon; even with the Byakugan activated, it was clearly composed purely of raw chakra.

'The only move that comes remotely close to that is the Yondaime's Rasengan…or the Nidaime's Raijin-ken.' he muttered, frowning.

'But this is nothing like them!'

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With the Reiken helping to extend his reach, Kuwabara soon had Sasuke on the defensive once again. At least, until Sasuke noticed the teen wasn't the most imaginative swordsman, and thanks to his Sharingan, was able to detect the blade as it came near, doging before the teen could get close enough.

The Uchiha grinned at the larger genin as he leapt back to avoid another swing.

"An extra five feet in range isn't going to help you if I jump back six!" he mocked, dodging the sword again thanks to the teens predictable swordplay.

Kuwabara merely grinned, causing the Uchjiha to frown in concern, before he brought the sword upward, making the Uchiha jump in the air again.

'Gotcha!' the reinin smirked, thrusting the sword forward liker a spear.

"Grow!"

To the shock of everyone in the arena, the sword actually grew in length until it resembled a spear, which was currently lodged in Sasuke's shoulder, and the tree behind him.

Kuwabara smirked, holding the spear with one hand with the ease of long practice.

"A true ninja uses his environment to his advantage." He recited "That's the first lesson master Genkai pounded into my skull…guess you missed that one, huh?"

Sasuke coughed out some blood and feebly tried to pull the spear out of his shoulder.

Aoba stepped forward, raising an arm to gain tyeir attention.

"I'm calling this match before something regrettable happens…Winner, Kuwabara Kazuma."

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Kuwabara nodded at the man, before disengaging the spear, catching Sasuke as he fell.

"Easy there, we better get that shoulder looked at."

He grinned at the confused Sasuke, "Good match huh? Let's have another sometime."

Sasuke nodded dumbly as the lanky team helped him walk over to the medics.

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Gai was weeping, spouting nonsense about chivalry and true sportsmanship, whilst Kakashi and everyone ignored him.

Genkai sweatdropped eyeing ther waterworks with trepidation.

"Is he on a medication?" she asked, looking up at Kakashi, the jounin shook his head sadly.

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Naruto looked up at the lanky teen as he returned to the fighter's booth.

'He's no genius…but he's honourable…more honourable than most people I've met.'

He frowned, 'And that technique…why couldn't I copy it?'

** That technique requires a level of control and awareness that you lack thanks to me being place inside you**, Kyuubi explained, **I'm effectively dwarfing your control as it is. **

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Kuwabara looked at the genin and frowned, 'There it is again…that feeling that there're two people in his head…maybe Genkai's right.'

Walking up to Kurama he nudged him, nodding encouragingly.

"You're up Kurama, Don't hold back y'hear?"

Kurama nodded, before smiling at the teen warmly.

"Well done by the way, you've really improved."

Kuwabara smirked and rubbed his nose.

"Aw shucks…"

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"Fourth match: Minamino Kurama vs. Nara Shikamaru."

Shikamaru yawned, "Man…this is way too troublesome…" he looked up at the crowds, 'It's not like they care about me, after watching the Uchiha fight.'

He looked at his opponent, 'And this guy…other than his battle with Tsurugi I've never seen him fight.'

Kurama smiled invitingly at the Nara, unsettling him with that eerie beauty of his.

"Well? The first move is yours."

Shikamaru snorted, 'Confident bastard…but those eyes…he's watching me.'

Deciding to put nothing to chance, Shikamaru used a smoke bomb and used it to hide behind a tree.

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"That won't help you." Kurama muttered, closing his eyes and sending out a silent signal to the surrounding Flora.

Shikamaru frowned from behind his chosen hiding place, before he felt something creep over his arm; the Nara felt his eyes widen as he was forced to use his kunai knife to sever the vine that had wrapped around his limb, before making a dash for it as several others descended from the upper levels of the tree.

'Dammit! So he can control any type of plant!' he muttered, before Kurama's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Rose whip!"

Shikamaru squawked and dived to the floor, eyes widening as the tree he was hiding behind fell, cut in two by the spiked whip the redhead was holding, as rose petals descended around him like snow.

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Hinata flushed as the smell of roses filled the arena.

"The smell…it's quite nice…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow; both disturbed and a little turned on at the sight, despite the knowledge the redhead was a male.

"What on earth is that?" he muttered, "Everything's coming up roses!"

Gai made an enawed face, as if staring into the distance.

"Dare I say it…flower power?"

Everyone gave the spandex wearing jounin a weird look before sweat dropping, moving at least two steps away just in case it was contagious.

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Shikamaru sneezed, rubbing his noise irritably as his allergies kicked in.

'Dammit! This smells worse than Ino's shop!' he moaned, hating when the blonde would drag him into the store, where she made him wait as she changed outfits.

'This stuff is really strong…some form of poison?'

He frowned at the stoic redhead, kurama having not moved since bringing out the damnable whip of his.

'But if that were the case…why's he just standing there?' He shook his head to clear it of the stench.

"No matter; Kagemane no jutsu!"

The Nara's shadow shot forwards aiming for the redhead's feet, only for him to leap off the ground and lash out with the whip.

"SHIT!" Shikamaru yelled, leaping away and using Kawarimi to exchange with a log, which landed in about twelve different pieces.

'He's fast,' the lazy genin muttered, 'and I just gave away my position…" he smirked as he got into his thinking pose.

"Maybe I can use that to my advantage..."

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Kurama shifted softly form one foot to the other, eyeing the location he'd last sensed the Nara's chakra signature.

'He's moving quickly, using the surroundings to his benefit,' the redhead calculated, 'too quick to trap him with another vine, and my other plants require that I get in close… could he be keeping his distance to draw me in?'

"Kagemane no jutsu!"

Sighing, Kurama leapt back, having expected more from the genin, only for his eyes to widen as the Shadow kept growing.

'How…there!' he realised, noticing the kunai floating in the air, the plant specialist somehow managed to change direction in mid-air by twisting himself, and proceeded to dodge the shadow user's attempts to ensnare him via an impressive feat of acrobatic skills. Eventually, Shikamaru's shadow stopped stretching and the redhead landed, eyeing his location warily.

'There's got to be more to it than that,' he reasoned, eyeing his opponent out the corner of his eye, 'he's not as stupid as he looks'

Kurama took a moment to calm himself, before running his eyes over his surroundings with a critical gaze worthy of any jeweller.

'Nothing but barren earth here, so little chance of me using my plants…but it also gives me the perfect view of the field.'

He eyed the lazy genin critically, as one general would another prior to the battle.

'His shadow can't stretch any further…what was the aim in drawing me out here?'

Kurama paused for a moment as something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, before grinning to himself.

'Ah, of course…see beneath the underneath and all that.'

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The redhead shot an appraising look at his opponent, before calmly flipping his hair back, apparently unaware of his predicament.

"No doubt everyone is wondering how much longer this is going to last," Kurama called out, the epitome of calm and reserve, "and I doubt you're holding out very well over there."

Shikamaru snorted, wincing at the strain from using Kagemane so quickly in succesion.

"Maybe, this IS kinda unusual for me, trying so hard and all."

Kurama shrugged non-plussed.

"Then what say we make this next move the endgame?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, apparently agreeing with the redhead.

"One last toss of the dice eh? I'm in."

Kurama bowed, an elgant smile on his features, causing many to swoon.

"Then by all means, let us conclude our little match."

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"I don't like this," Asuma muttered with a frown, "that Rei-nin's WAY too cocky for someone on the ropes."

Kurenai shrugged, before staring at the arena in awe.

"I'm just surprised Shikamaru lasted this long…being the dead last and all."

The smoking jounin snorted, casting an amused look at his secret crush.

"Shows what you lot know, Shikamaru's ALWAYS been that smart, he's just so lazy that I'm surprised breathing doesn't make him sleepy."

The jounin took a drag on his cancer stick before continuing, shooting an approving glance at his favourite student.

"I first noticed how devious he was during missions, ten seconds into them and he'd have the perfect strategy all worked out…so I figured I'd test his I.Q with a little game."

Kurenai looked at him, intrigued at the man's words.

"Well? How'd he do?"

Asuma couldn't have looked more proud than if Shikamaru was his own son.

"Kid's I.Q rated over 200."

Before the shocked genjutsu specialist could reply, a snort from knee height caught their attention.

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"Only 200?" Genkai asked, looking amused, "Then he may as well give up right now."

She pointed down at the redhead in the ring with a smirk.

"Kurama's a prodigy even amongst the Minamino clan, notorious for being natural born strategists."

Her smirk widened, "His academy I.Q exam guessed his intelligence to be in the 300 range," she shrugged her shoulders, "but that was some time ago, he's improved since then."

The aged sensei didn't seem to notice as Asuma's jaw hit the floor, causing it to crack.

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Shikamaru grunted and retracted his shadow, trying to fake the redhead out as he sent a second towards the hole in the ground, only to cry out in shock as a massive plant shot out of it, blocking the tunnel and sending barbed vines to wrap around him in a cocoon.

"Ever hear of a parasite vine?" Kurama asked, walking forwards as the teen struggled, "They are a species of plant that evolved to, literally, feed of other plants."

He reached out a hand and stroked the massive thing, almost lovingly.

"They embed themselves into the host tree, and then grow to completely cover it, sucking away at its energy as they go."

He sighed, shaking his head, as he cast a cautionary gaze towards the trapped genin.

"Eventually the host tree dies, and the vines send out pollen to enable them to spread to other hosts, though few actually become strong enough to take root."

Shikamaru cursed within his cocoon, struggling to reach his kunai pouch.

"What's with the botany lesson?" he asked, "Last I checked, I wasn't a plant, so I've nothing to worry about from these things."

"True enough…" Kurama chuckled, shaking his head humorously, before his eyes became deadly serious.

"If this were a NORMAL parasite vine..."

He held a hand up to his face, clenching it slowly and causing Shikamaru to yelp as the vines tightened.

"This type has been specially bred to feed on chakra provided by either myself or the plants in my family's gardens," Kurama explained, "and in return for the chakra, it obeys my every command."

He pointed at the captured genin, his gaze serious.

"I suggest you not move around so much, the plant is highly excitable and can drain all of your chakra within a matter of minutes if it deems it necessary…or if it's HUNGRY."

Shikamaru froze faster than a skinny-dipper in the Antarctic, gulping as he noticed a faint stream of chakra flow from one of his wounds down one of the many vines.

Aoba raised a hand and nodded, looking mildly impressed.

"I'm calling this match before someone gets killed," he muttered, "winner: Minamino Kurama."

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Naruto shivered slightly as he watched the vines slowly retract, the massive plant shrinking down to a speck which Kurama quickly swept up, returning it to it's nest in his red locks.

Damn that was cool. the blonde muttered, Shikamaru didn't stand a chance! 

** Not so, **Kyuubi corrected, **the fight could have gone either way, both used the terrain to their advantage, and both made effective use of their skills…I wager had Kurama not plugged the hole with that seed he flicked from his hair, Shikamaru's attack would have landed perfectly. **

Naruto frowned, looking at the hole with interest.

Isn't that the hole I made when I pummelled Neji? he muttered, flashing back to the match with the Hyuuga prodigy.

** It is indeed, and the other is from when that daft rei-nin nearly shot his own feet off. **Kyuubi explained, **The blast must have created quite the tunnel down there, its little wonder the holes were linked. **

Naruto felt as if the Fox was impressed, as he watched Shikamaru head back to the steps.

** Your lazy friend is quite observant. **

He's not my friend. the blonde growled, before eyeing the Nara carefully.

…But he IS a lot cooler than I thought. he conceded, ignoring the amused snort from his aniki.

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Hiei snorted as Kurama re-entered the fighters' booth, looking as cool and aloof as when he'd entered.

"You're going soft Kurama." He chastised, "Normally you'd have finished him off with the first move."

Kurama merely smiled and looked away.

"Perhaps," he admitted, "but I was getting bored just breezing through the matches, I wanted to challenge my mind a little."

Hiei snorted and looked away, frowning as the announcer called up the next match.

This could be it. he warned the others, Everyone be on your guard. 

STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD KUSO-CHIBI! Kuwabara relayed, ignoring the warning in his ire.

Hiei suppressed at twitch from the taller teen's mental curse, before staring impassively out towards the stands, fingering the hilt of his katana lovingly.

'Yukina would be upset if I lopped his head off…' he chanted mentally, restraining his desire to do just that.

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Back in Reigakure, the red eyed teen's twin sneezed as she tended to the birds in the family gardens, looking around in confusion afterwards.

'Hiei Aniki?' she wondered, looking around for her twin before shrugging, 'must be my imagination...'

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Sorry for the delay there folks, Hope it was worth the wait!

Kuwabara: Kuso, why's that damn shrimp peeking round in my head? Hasn't he better things to do, like grow?

Hiei: The idiot is ytalking to himself, how droll.

Kuwabara: Why do you keep torqin' me ever time you open yer yap?!?!

Kurama: Ano, Kuwabara-kun, he's only teasing...

Hiei: Another thing, keep your perverted mind off of Yukina, or I'll be forced to take...

Sound of unsheathing Katana

Hiei: Corrective measures.

Kuwabara: OI! Who do you think you're accusing of- YOICKS! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT THING!!

Next time on Naruto gaiden: Sand's plot unveiled!

Shukaku: YAHOO! I FOUND SOMEONE I WANNA KILL!


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the long wait, hope you didn't think I'd forgotten this, but writers block is a very demanding bitch. which, for some reason, only pics on fics which are already in progress.

Anyway, I'm sure you didn't wait so long just to hear me ramble, let the good times roll!

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Chapter fourteen.

Hidden in the crowd as a civilian, Orochimaru raised a delicate eyebrow at the skills demonstrated by the elusive Reigakure genins. The snake sannin had been interested in learning the location of the village for some time but his many endeavours had been for naught, since you may as well try to question time itself. As it were, the snake had noticed the nervousness of the sand nins and deduced from the look on Baki's face that the attack would take place any second now.

'I had best send word to Dosu to forfeit the match.' He conceded, closing his eyes in preparation to perform the jutsu, only to open them again in surprise. 'The suppression jutsu…it's gone!' his eyes widened as he eyed the sole oto-genin remaining, 'But…if that's the case…why isn't he following my orders?'

The snake sannin scowled and looked up at the kage booth, not liking the looks of this one bit.

'I have to warn sensei…but how…' He blinked, before a very serpentine grin grew across his hidden features, 'Kukukuku…Arashi, I do believe you've ruined me…'

A woman two rows in front of the sannin turned in her seat to yell at the man behind her for feeling her up, only to scream as she came eye to eye with a massive anaconda which flicked it's tongue out to lick her nose. The scream was picked up by everyone in the stadium, alerting the jounin and ANBU immediately, whilst Orochimaru slithered under the chairs towards the steps.

'I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted.' He wondered, 'Sensei better have some good sake for this!'

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Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the sounds of hysterics emanating from the booths, knowing that the odds of an anaconda sneaking into a ninja village were, without a doubt, infinitesimally small. The odds of it not eating anyone that stood still long enough were just as small, that left only one option.

'Orochimaru's plan must have sprung a leak.' He deduced, knowing his student wouldn't take such a huge risk unless he WANTED to attract attention, most specifically the sandaime's. 'That means we need to act NOW!'

Apparently not moving, the Sandaime nevertheless managed to alert Raido to the situation at hand courtesy of a well timed look. The scarred jounin nodded, and promptly pressed his foot against the base of the sandaime's chair, setting off the silent alarm that would alert all the ANBU in the immediate area.

The Kazekage, unaware of the actions, sent a meaningful glare towards his offspring, a glare that said quite clearly: 'do it NOW, or I'll make your life a living hell.'

Gaara simply glared right back, his features etching their response to his 'father's demands: 'So what else is new?'

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Naruto blinked as he noticed the look on Gaara's face, before the redhead jinchuuriki leapt into the centre of the arena, a look of calm on his features. Genma blinked before frowning at the teen.

"Oi, get back up there and watch." He ordered, "You forfeited, even if there weren't a match on you-"

The jounin's words were cut off as he was forced to dodge a wall of sand, sliding backwards as they receded. Gaara, making a seal and glaring, summoned his Suna no Tate and closed his eyes.

'There will be much blood to spill.'

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"IS anyone else getting a bad feeling about this?" Kuwabara muttered, eyeing the sphere of sand in trepidation as the powerful demonic chakra continued to grow.

Yusuke snorted and cast him a long suffering look, "That a rhetorical question? He mocked, jumping into the arena, "C'mon dumbass!"

The Lanky teen leapt after his rival amidst a plethora of curses, earning an annoyed grunt from Hiei, who merely blurred out of sight to reappear in the arena. Kurama, turned to the Konoha genin and nodded.

"I would suggest alerting your fellow leaf nin to start evacuating the area," he offered politely, "things are about to get a little…messy."

And with that, the redhead leapt into the ring, summoning his rose whip on the way down.

Shikamaru blinked, looking around at the hysteria and the events taking place in the arena. "Mendokuse…why does all this shit have to happen around me?'

Naruto growled and flipped through the seals for Shinrei shujutsu, placing his palms over Sasuke's wound to speed up the healing process. "Soon as I finish, take a few soldier pills and find Neji" he ordered, making sure the Uchiha had copied the seals for the jutsu, "Just give him a few to get his energy back up and tell him to expect trouble."

The Uchiha nodded and, after grabbing the bag of soldier pills, promptly used shunshin to disappear, not a second too soon, as what appeared to be a rattling skeleton sent several senbon needles into the wall he'd been leaning against.

"You're not going anywhere." Kankurou muttered, Karasu clacking away in a threatening manner. Behind him, Temari un folded her fan in preparation to deflect any incoming attacks, and Dosu sidled up alongside the Sand siblings, hoisting his melody arm in readiness.

Naruto sighed and eyed the trio warily, "Damn…I figured there was something off about you guys." He eyed them carefully, "So how long have the sound and the sand been bed partners?"

"Long enough." Kankurou replied in a clipped fashion, though from the look on his face he liked the idea a lot less than it showed, Temari even cast the mummified sound nin to her right a disgusted glare, "All you need to know is that we're going to bring down the leaf."

"You don't say?" Naruto commented, pulling out his book and turning to his page, "Out of curiosity, that puppet of yours…"

Kankurou blinked, "Karasu? What about it?" he asked, frowning suspiciously. Naruto looked up from his book and nodded.

"Hmm, 'The crow' was it? That's a Sasori model puppet isn't it?" he smiled behind his page at the Suna nins' look of shock. "Thought so, I hear they come in a three part set, you lose the other two?"

"Where the hell are you getting your info?!" Kankurou barked, miffed at the idea that anyone could know so much about his profession that wasn't an ally.

"From this book." Naruto replied coyly, "It lists every famous shinobi and their achievements, in his case, a list of every puppet he ever made before defecting from the sand." He blinked at the look on the sand genin's face and held up the novel, "Interested? care to take a look?"

Kankurou stared hungrily at the book. It was every puppet master's dream to handle a Sasori model puppet. They moved like clockwork, were long lasting and required very little maintenance outside of battle. To discover every available piece of work would be surpassed only by creating something better than the master.

Temari's fan caught her sibling upside the head, snapping him out of his reverie. "Focus!" the blonde snapped, "We don't have time to be daydreaming!"

Naruto blinked as the puppeteer muttered under his breath, before snickering to himself. "Man, has she got you whipped."

"She's my sister you sick fuck!" Kankurou yelled, whilst Temari looked affronted. Naruto blinked, before turning the page in a dismissive manner.

"…whatever floats your boat." He commented, smirking inwardly as the Suna siblings swelled up in a rage.

"I'L KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Kankurou yelled, moving to send Karasu towards the genin, only to blink as he found himself incapable of moving.

"Took your sweet time, Shikamaru." Naruto muttered, casting a neutral look towards the Nara scion, "You have some sort of grudge against me?"

"Mendokuse," the Nara scoffed, "That'd take way to much effort, Nah, I just wanted to watch the floor show for a while."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow archly, before shrugging and holding out a hand, "Admission is ten ryou, coff it up."

The Nara snorted, before searching his pockets, causing his captives to do the same, "I'm a little short, but I see our puppeteer friend isn't."

Kankurou glared murderously at the Nara as he begrudgingly pulled his hand out of his pocket, a wad of bills clenched between his fingers. Naruto shrugged, scooped up ten Ryou, before turning to face the arena. "I'll leave these guy's in your capable hands." He commented, leaping over the rail, "Don't do anything I wouldn't!"

Shikamaru sweatdropped, casting a worried glance towards his annoyed captives.

'Naruto you bastard! What the hell am I supposed to do with these guys?!'

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Kakashi grabbed a kunai in mid-flight and redirected it towards an enemy shinobi, the unfortunate sand ninja letting out a cut-off scream as it lodged in his jugular vein.

'This isn't good.' He muttered, eyeing the surroundings warily, 'Our back up should have arrived from Oto by now…unless Orochimaru screwed up.'

He shook his head at that statement, knowing that Orochimaru hadn't earned his reputation as the most effective of the Sannin for nothing. The man completed every task assigned to him to perfection, from assassination to simple filing. Kakashi personally believed the man sleepwalked, and did half his tasks whilst blissfully unaware.

"YOSH! MY ETERNAL RIVAL! I HAVE DEFEATED THIRTEEN ENEMIES ALREADY!" Gai boasted, having sent a sand jounin flying with the beast's footprint in his face. Kakashi merely shrugged offhandedly.

"Only thirteen?" he wondered, "I'm on my twentieth."

Gai seemed to bulge at this before launching himself into the fray once more like a badly dressed hurricane, "YOSH! IF I CANNOT DEFEAT MORE THAN YOU, I SHALL SPRINT AROUND KONOHA ON MY HANDS 200 TIMES!"

Kakashi sighed and was about to make a comment when what looked like thirty sand ninja leapt at them from the sky. He cursed and leapt beside his rival, ready to cover the rear before a surge of chakra caught their attention.

"KAAAA!"

There was a burst of light, abruptly followed by several spheres of light ramming into the airborne enemies, sending them hurtling backwards in a mass of twisted limbs and battered corpses.

The two rivals blinked, before turning as one to stare, mouth's agape at the diminutive form of Genkai as she blew on her knuckles.

"I believe that's thirty to me." she mocked, before stamping on the foot of the nin creeping up behind her, sending him flying with a follow-up heel kick to the jaw.

Gai stared at the elderly woman in awe, before turning to his rival, mouth working but no words coming out. Kakashi merely nodded grimly.

"We never talk about this again, agreed?"

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Naruto landed in the arena and sprinted towards the dome of sand, the Reinin having congregated around it likes moths to the flame. The blonde activated his Kyugan, wincing as he felt the tremendous chakra surging off the dratted thing.

(Nii-san, I don't like the looks of this…)

**(Neither do I outoto,) **the fox agreed,** (Be ready for anything.)**

Yusuke turned his head as the blonde arrived, grinning invitingly as he waved him over, "Hey Uzumaki! Pull up a seat!"

"Hn," Hiei scoffed, "Always treating things like a game, baka."

Yusuke merely grinned and turned his attention back to the sphere, the smirk dropping to be replaced by a scowl, "Anyone got any idea what's going on in there?"

"I can't be certain," Naruto muttered, eyeing the teen warily, "But if I had to hazard a guess I'd say…"

"Who cares what's happening'!" Kuwabara yelled, summoning his Reiken, "Let's crack this egg!"

With that, the lanky teen leaped at the sphere, ready to cleave it open in one fell swoop, only for the defensive spikes to ram into his gut, sending him back with a squawk.

Naruto sweatdropped, "Well that was…stupid." He muttered, whilst Kurama and Yusuke went to check on the teen, "But then I guess thinking isn't his strong point."

"You'd be right." Hiei muttered, smirking at the lummox as he groggily got to his feet, "But the fool's got the tenacity of a cockroach, he'll live."

Naruto shivered as he eyed the shorter genin warily, 'Oh yeah, I'm REALLY feeling the love here…this guy's like a mini-Sasuke, only all the angst's been compressed.'

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Sasuke sneezed, blinking in surprise at the sudden action, before promptly returning to the task at hand. "Any one else?" he called out, catching Neji's attention as they fended off the attackers at the hospital.

"I cannot detect any new enemies," the Hyuuga acknowledged, "however, it would be prudent to remain here until ordered otherwise."

Sasuke flinched at this but didn't deny the logic in the Hyuuga's statement, casting a longing look towards the arena. 'Look's like I won't be taking part in your fight after all.' He muttered, before kneeling to administer aid to a fallen leaf shinobi.

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Sarutobi glared at the Kazekage, all pretence of cordiality having vanished from his wizened features.

"Isn't ironic?" the younger Kage commented offhandedly, "Your villages name is Konoha, and it burns just as nicely as its namesakes." He grinned in a humourless fashion, "Shall you live to see the last leaf fall?"

"Konoha will not fall." Sarutobi predicted, gripping the shoulder of his robes determinedly, "even if a single sapling remains in the carnage of the flames, it shall grow strong to replace the oak it was sown from."

He glared and ripped off his robes, revealing his battle armour underneath. "And I shall ensure the survival of those saplings with all my might…as the SANDAIME HOKAGE!"

The aged Hokage glared at his younger counterpart and got into a fighting stance, "Arashi always saw the good in you…" he muttered, "but I'm not as nice as Arashi…prepare yourself!"

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Orochimaru slithered through the ranks of enemy nins, trying to locate the source of the dilemma. By all rights his fellow Oto nin should have contacted him by now, but the radio simply came out as static.

'What in the hell is going on here?' he hissed angrily, slitting the throats of a passing sand jounin as he went, 'They shouldn't be blocking my signals…'

"Problems in paradise, Orochimaru-sama?"

The Sennin whirled round to stare in shock at the smug shape of Yakushi Kabuto and several Sound shinobi. "Where have you been?" he hissed, "I've been trying to contact you for hours!"

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose and smirked, "Ah, you see, that's the problem," he admitted, "we didn't WANT to be found."

Orochimaru felt a shiver go up his spine as he ran his eyes over the assorted sound nin, "Kabuto…" he hissed, taking in the distinct feeling of danger they were leveling at him, "What is the meaning of this?"

Kabuto put his head to one side, "Hmm, let's see, what was the word again?" he sighed and hummd offhandedly, "Foreign ;anmguages never was my strong point..."

He snapped his fingers, "AH! Got it!" then smiled and stepped behind the rushing sound nin, waving cheerfully as his eyes glinted. "Coup de tat."

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Naruto grimaced as the chakra within the dome of sand took on a VERY discomforting feel, like dragging your raw flesh against frozen sandpaper, the hackles on his neck standing out as a sign of his distress.

Kuwabara noticed the feeling as well, but his Rei-kan was on a different level entirely than the blonde's senses, and it was sending a very clear message to the teen's body.

(RUN YOU BLOODY STUPID BASTARD!)

"Guy's..." he began cautiously, "I think we'd better back off a bit..."

Yusuke looked at his rival, ready to taunt him for cowardice, only to see the look on the teen's face. The last time he'd seen that look had been during a mission to capture the renegade band known as the Shu Shin, when the teen had singlehandedly faced down the demon Byakko over a pit of lava.

Now Yuysuke was all for trash talk, and loved to get his friend's back up as mauch as any other teen, but there was a time for gloating and a time for listening to the warning klaxxon that was Kuwabara's danger senses.

"FALL BACK!" He yelled, doing so himself, just as the dome of sand heaved outwars, attempting to ensnare anything in it's path, it whirled around in a minitaure tornado, before retreating to cover the figure in the centre.

"w-wha-WHAT THE HELL!?" Yusuke barked, glaring at what looked like a misshapen snad goblin on humanb legs way to small for it. (Gaara's second form.) "All that build up for THAT?!"

Kuwabara looked mildly put out, "Yeah, I was expectin' somethin' the size of a mountain!" he muttered, "Not some guy that looks like a well placed foot could take him down!"

Gaara let out a low rumble which could be interpretted as a growl on the most primal level, before crossing his arms across his chest.

"SUNA SHURIKEN!"

The Unlilely allies blinked, before avoiding the sand projectiles in their own fashion, Hiei sidestepping them, Kurama vivisecting them, Naruto using shunshin to avoid them, and Yusuke and Kuwabara either leaping out of the way or deflecting them with the reiken respectively.

"Okay, I take it back." Yusuke ammended, "Glowering at the monstrosity, "Don't insult the psychopathic gremlin."

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Orochimaru stoood to the knees in a pile of bodies, looking very displeased at this turn of events as he tapped his foot off one fractured skull.

"What is the meaning of this," he asked coldly, glaring at the recumbant figure before him, one of the few otonin that had been spared death via sennin level violence...for the moment.

The man trembled, coveirng his injured flank in fear as he tried to find an escape route, "K-Kabuto said that you were a relic of the past that would only weaken the sound." he admitted, flinching a the flash of rage that crossed the sannin's features, "hesaid we had to unite with outside forces to ensure the survival of the sound!"

Orochimaru hissed in annoyance, wihing to take his anger out on the bespectacled man, but the rat had turned tail in the midst of the fighting, andf was no doubt halfway to the border of fire country by now.

"Go on," he encouraged, "whonare these 'outside forces?' he spoke of?"

The amn shivered in fear, "I-I don't know! All I know is they wore black cloaks with clouds on!"

The bottom dropped out of the sennin's stomach at this, leaving him sufficiently distracted for the unfortunate shinobui to decide to make a break for it. Needless to say, he didn't get far.

"Akatsuki..." Orochimaru hissed, sheathing the Kusanagi no Tsurugi as the man fell in several pieces around him, "This is happening FAR too fast." He glared up at the arena roof, where the sounds of battle could still be heard, even from this distance.

"I have to get up there."

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'The Way I see it, direct attacks are going to be as prolem.' Naruto theorised, dodging yet another burst off snad in ther shape of a shuriken. 'True he's lost the ability to hirl those bloody sand pillars at us,but he's no doubt well protected under that thick hide of his.'

As if to testify this, Kuwabara managed to sneak up behind the monstrosity and attempted to cleave its head off, only to be met with a dull thud as his weapin glanced off the thick sand like hide of the creatures head, before being batted away like an annoying fly.

'And in regards to long range, he's not giving us time to set up a decent attack, and if what Nii-sama said was right, Urameshi probabaly only has two shots left.' he shot the teen a look 'and he's hardly going to wastye them on an innefective strategy.'

"Ryou for your thoughts." Kurama opined, passing next to the tteen and looking at him out the corner of his emerald eyes, the blonde shrugged and glared at their opponent.

"I think we need a plan here!" Kuwabara opined, having returned from his impromptu trip to the stands, looking none the worse for ware, other than being covered in dust and debris.

"No? Really? You think?" Yusuke muttered sarcastically, giving the teen a long suffering look, "You're just full of good ideas today aren't you?"

"URUSEI TEME!" Kuwabara roared, "It's not like you're doin' any better!"

Naruto sighed and eyed the redhead wearily, "Are they ALWAYS like this?" he muttered,earning a weak chuckle from the teen.

"I am afraid so," Kurama said with a smile, "but they usually pull through and forget what the argument was about, so iut's better not to draw it out."

Naruto nodded, before turning his gaze back to the fight between Hiei and the monstrosity, the little red-eyed horro seemed to be trying to lop off Gaara's legs at the knee, but the Jinchuuriki wasn't letting him get close enough.

"That has got to be the most violent game of Tag I've ever seen." Naruto opined, "You have anty ideas?"

"Just one." Kurama admitted, "I noticed that when Kuwabara-kun managed to take the rear, it took some time for Gaara to react." he dodged another shuriken and nodded, "This leads me to believe that there is a massive blid-spot in that area, which is compensated for by a denser level of sand armor."

Naruto frowned, before sending an calulating glare at their opponent, "Regardless of the defenses, a blind spot is a blind spot, if we can keep mr 'sand in my shorts' there busy long enough, I think i can find a weak spot back there."

Kurama smiled and eyed his arguing teammates, "I think I can arrange foir a distraction."

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Sorry if it's a but short, you know how things are at the end of year.

How will Naruto and Kurama's plan be pulled off? What part do Kuwabara and Yusuke have to play? Will Hiei succeed in his attempts to shorten Gaara's lifespan, as well as Gaara himself?

Find out next time on: Naruto GAIDEN!

Kuwabara: And another thing! If it weren't for my Rei-kan we'd be looking like swiss cheese by now!

Yusuke: Shut up and stop ruining the suspense dammit!


	15. Chapter 15

Things are heating up for the leaf village. Orochimaru's entire village has turned on him, the sandaime Hokage is battling the younger, and eviler, Yondaime Kazekage. And now Kabuto has hinted that the Akatsuki is behind the plot!

On top of that, can Naruto and the reinin tachi defeat gaara before he goes all 'shukaku' on their ass?

* * *

Sarutobi clasped his hands together and grunted. "Ninpou: Shuriken Kage bunshin no jutsu!" 

The Yondaime Kazekage cursed as the single kunai the elderly Sarutobi had thrown became a wall of death that steadily closed in on him. "Not bad for an old man!" he taunted, "But you'll need to be quicker than that!"

"Doton: Doryuu Taiga!"

Blinking in shock, the kazekage let out a ylep as the tiles he was standing on became a river of mud, sending him hurtling down the roof-top in the flow.

'How!?' he snarled, 'He's an old man at death's door! I once stood against the Yondaime for a whole day!'

"You look a little miffed there." Sarutobi muttered, "Socked that an old man can do so much?" he scowled at the younger man as he tried to fight his way against the mud flow. "Old I may be, oyu won't hear me deny it, but with age comes experience, ad with experience, comes wisdom."

He clapped his hands together in a new set of seals, glaring at the shocked kazekage the entire time.

"And with wisdom comes the ability to do great things!" The Sandaime roared, bringing his hands together again, "Doton: Doryuudan!"

A dragons head formed from the earth and began launching miniature bullets of hardened earth at the struggling Kazekage, the man winced as he fended off the worst of it with his arms, only to stare in horror as the aged kage finished another set of seals.

"Karyuudan!"

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Gaara glared at the teens standing before him. It had been fifteen minutes since he'd taken this form, and yet they still stood before him, like cockroaches. They simply refused to die, no matter how hard he swatted them.

And the blonde one, the one which had terrified Shukaku...he seemed to be looking through him at all times.

'Tamashi-na...' the deranged redhead muyttered, 'Tamashi!'

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"That grin of his is giving me the creeps." Kuwabara muttered, "It's easy enough to sneak up behind him, but that damn sand is too thick for my reiken to cut through"

Yusuke nodded, "And I only got two shots left, I sure as hell ain't waisting them." he shot Kurama a look, "We could use a miracle here mr. wizard."

Kurama nodded, "Very well, Naruto-kun here believes he can get at gaara's weak spot, but we need a diversion."

Yusuke grinned and nudged Kuwabatra, who returned it, "Count on us." the slick haired teen replied.

"Yeah! We're good at catching peoples attention!" Kuwabara added, before leaping aside to avoid another sand shuriken, "OI! YOU TRYING TA KILL ME TEME?!"

Naruto sweatdropped, "Um...that WAS his idea you know..." he sighed as the giant teen leapt back into the fray, catching a suna shuriken and hurling it back at the source, causing Gaara to take a step back, "At least he's determined."

"Kuwabara has bore spunk then half the guys in Reigakure." Yusuke cut in, smirking at his rival and best friend, "I wouldn't ask for anyone better to watch my back...cept maybe Kurama."

"I HEARD THAT URAMESHI!" Kuwabara yelled, then used his reiken to slice a shuriken in two, "Now get your ass in here! I can't distract this bastard by myself!"

Yusuke sighed and shot Naruto a mock-long suffering look, "Duty calls." he droled, and then leapt into the fray.

'I have sudden misgivings about this plan.' Naruto muttered.

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Orochimaru hissed as he dispatched another treacherous sound nin, grimacing as the wiped the blood off the kusanagi.

'They've all undergone a mild for of kabuto's cell manipulation jutsu.' he noted, watching as, even in death, the man's wounds closed, 'it continuously regenerates damage at the cost of chakra...clever.'

He stabbed behind him, dispatching a sound nin that he could have sworn was dead two seconds ago.

'But mostly annoying.' he cursed, looking up as a massive explosion rocked the walls, 'I see Jiraiya has decided to show up...LATE as usual.'

He sighed as he listened in on his teammate's loud introduction, before shaking his head ruefully.

'Always crying out for attention, eh Jiraiya?' he muttered, flipping through the seals for his own summoning, 'Lets see if you react the same as the old days.'

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The great sennin Jiraiya cackled as he glared at the summoned snakes.

"Yon serpents! frozen beneath the glare of my toad! Begone!" he cried, only to blink as they appeared to be looking not AT him, but rathjer at something BEHIND him. He slowly turned round to find himself face to nostril with a large purple serpent with a bad temperment.

"WHO ARE YOU TO ORDER MY CHILDREN AROUND?" Manda hissed, a serpentine pupil glaring down at the sennin.

Jiraiya fought the urge to wet himself, only to blink as a familliar laugh sent a shiver up his spine.

"Long time no see, Eh? Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya spiked defensively and spun round to face his pale skinned teammate, "YOU!" he yelped, making signs against evil, "S-STAY AWAY!"

Orochimaru sighed and brushed his hair back, "Would you calm down, I'm not here to cause trouble." he shot the smaller serpents a glare and waved a hand dismissivley, "Shoo-shoo, go on home."

The serpents vanished in a puff of smoke, followed by a growling Manda. The snake sannin turned to his teammate, who was eyeing him like a cat eyes a wolf. "Really Jiraiya, we don't see each other for thirteen years and this is how you greet me?"

"D-don't you come near me!" the frog sennin muttered, sounding a little more in control of himself, "I ain't lettinng you get that close again!"

Orochimaru groaned, rubbing his eyes to supress a growing migraine, "Are you still hung up about that?" he asked, shaking his head, "Don't you think it's time to put it behind us?"

The look on Jiraiya's face told the snake sennin all he needed to know.

"Very well, let's at least agree that this needs to be sorted out," he muttered tiredly, "You take this side, I'll take the other." he smirked at the bear of a sannin, "Loser has to buy sake."

"I'M NOT BUYING YOU ALCOHOL AGAIN YOU BASTARD!" Jiraiya yelled, only for the snake sannin to vanish in a swirl of leaves. "Never again..." the toad sennin muttered, shivering, "Once was bad enough!"

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"Over here ya ugly bastard!" Yusuke yelled, hurling kunai and shuriken at the annoyed Gaara. the transformed suna jinchuuriki responded by hurling his own sand shuriken at the teen. The transformed genin blinked as a spear of ckara shot out, impaling the sand weapons and stoppiung them in mid flight.

"HAH! Suna shuriken shish kebab ala Kuwabara!" the lanky teen called out, earning a look of disbelief from the sand jincuuriki.

"Blech, I can't eat that." Yusuke mocked, "Send it back to the kitchen!"

Kuwabara snorted, before spinning like a hammer throw contender and sending the shuriken flying as he disengaged his sword. the sand shuriken hurlted towards the sand genin cliumsily, before slamming harmlessly against his hide.

"Mudada." Gaara growled, "You cannot hurt me with my own sand." he blinked as a black blur hurtled towards his knees, deflecting a sword strike from hiei and sending the short genin back several feet.

"Maybe not." Hiei alloted, but you were slow to begin with, all we have to do now is ensure you can't move at all."

Gaara's eyes narrowed, before widening as he felt the telltale signs of vines creeping along his arm, "NANI?!"

"Cucurbita cordata." Kurama called out, "Perhaps you've heard of it? It's a vine like plant that inhabits desert regions."

The long haired redhead walked forwards, eyeing the sand monster carefully, "The vines grow from a large underground tuberous root. This plant is capable sprouting and flowering on its stored water after a year with no rain." he narrowed his eys, "This variety however, has been specialy treated to suck up moisture from it's source, even now the roots are burrowing ever deeper into your sand, until they reach the skin."

Garra snarled, trying to move his massive limbs, only for the plants to tighen their grip. "this... won't hold me for long." he threatened, to which Kurama merely cocked a delicate eyebrow. The sand monster's grin grew into a menacing leer. "This...is not the extent..of my ability!"

Kurama scowled, and then felt a cold shiver run up his spine as the sand began to rumble. "Everyone! back away!" he yelled, leaping back just as there was a monstrous explosion kof sand and dirt.

When the dust settled, the reinins looked up in awe at the mostrosity that loomed over them.

"**Now..."** Gaara's voice echoed,** "let the games...begin."**

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Naruto cursed as he spotted the true form of Shukaku looming in the middle of the stricken arena. 'Dammit, and I thought YOU were big!' he muttered, directing this thought toward his tennant.

'**All Bijuu are roughly that size.'** the fox muttered, **'We ARE demon's after all.'**

Naruto snorted and ducked behind a pillar as the giant tanuki ran it's eyes over the stadium, 'still, we gotta do something about this guy.' he muttered. 'And right now, I'm open to suggestion...eh?'

He noticed something huddled into a corner, or rather three somethings,one of which was whining plaintively. Upon further investigation, it was revealed to be the unconcious form of-

"Hinata! Kiba!" Naruto wondered, untying the whining Akamaru and trying to rouse the unconcious teammates, "Wake up dammit!"

**'It's a genjutsu.'** Kyuubi countered, '**they won't wake up until you break it.'**

Naruto grunted and made the tiger seal, channeling chakra into it before palcing a palm on Kiba's shoulder, "KAI!"

Kiba grunted and blinked, opening his eyes to stare up at the blonde in sleepy confusion, "'ruto?" he mumbled, "'wha're you doin' in my room?"

Naruto fought the urge to slap his forehead and shook the teen, "Wake uo Baka Inu, there a battle going on!" he muttered, shoving past the teen to get to Hinata.

Kiba blinked, shaking the sleep from his eyes, only to stare in horro at the walking mountain that was glaring right at them.

"SHIT! Naurto!"

The Blonde spun round, only to curse as Gaara/Shukaku brought up it's paw, heralding a curtain of sand to wrap around the quartet.

"SHIT!" Naruto cursed, grabbing Hinata and Kiba, even as the other teen grabbed his pet ad held him close, "Hold onto your ballks Kiba!" the blonde yelled as he clenched his fingers, "I'm going all out!"

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**'Uzumaki Naruto...'** Gaara/shukaku rumbled, **'You terrified Shukaku, to the point he wished to escape.'** the demon's sandy features settled into monstrous leer, **'By killing you, my existence will surpass even Shukaku's!'**

**"Shinee!"** the monstrous giant roared, **"Sabaku Sousou!"**

the sand contraced, for a brief moment, before exploding outwards as another explosion rocked the stadium. as the dust cleared Shukaku's eyes widened at what he was seeing.

**'What...is...that?!'**

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"Never thought it wuld come to this." Naruto muttered, as sweat trailed down his brow, "Never even got to give this one a test run."

He smirked at his opponent as he readjusted the slumbering Hyuuga heiress to a more comfortble position, making sure not to rouse her.

"Uzumaki Ninjutsu ougi..." Naruto muttered, his bleeding hand placed against the red fur beneath him, the seal on his navel glowed red and their were five pouncture marks from where he'd stabbed his fingers into it, "Kuchiyose: Shiki Kaijin!"

The blonde eyed his opponent from atop his mount, his arm around hinata whilst a stunned Kiba stared down at the ground in disbelief. "Ready to fight, Aniki?" he asked, to which Kyuubi let out a roar that shook Konoha to it's foundations.

"**But of course!"** he yelled, **"Let the bloodrain fall!"**

**

* * *

**

Things have come to a boiling point in Konoha! 

Will Kyuubi be able to turn the tide against one of his bijuu comrades?

Will the reinin aide in the protection of Konoha?

Will Hinata awaken to see her knight in shining armor?

Tune in next time on, Naruto GAIDEN!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter sixteen

_Thirteen years ago, a mighty beast descended like the wrath of the more violent gods upon the village of Konohagakure no sato. It's fur was a beep red that burned against the retinas, it's fasngs dripping with blood and death. Taller than mountian's the beast stood, howling with outrage aat those that stood in it's path,a nd mainy oft compared the blood which fell upon them as a rain, a bleak, merciless prelude to the carnage that followe d in the beasts wake._

_Thirteen years...and now a familliar presence looms over the stricken inhabitants of Konoha, under seige from enemies old and new._

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Kiba stared in awe, shock, and no small ammount of horror at the blonde before him, Hinata secured in the figures free arm.

Growing up, the Inuzuka heir had felt an instinctive disliking for the blonde troublemaker, something which set his hackles on edge. It was akin to when a fox had acidentally fallen into the Inuzuka kennels one night, and the pack had torn the poor thing to shreds.

Many a time Kiba had picked on the little hellraiser simply for the childish rush one gets from being top-dog, and never had he expcted the smaller teen to fight back.

Now it was taking everything the Inuzuka had not to wet himself, as he dug his fingers deep into the fur that adorned the blonde's summoned mount. turning round he eyed the nine waving tails with no small amount of awe and terror.

'It can't be!' he whimpered, shaking his head in denial, 'Nee-chan told me it was dead!'

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Naruto grimaced as he felt the stabbing pain from his abdomen. He'd give the Yondaime one thing, the bastard really new how to design a seal. If it hadn't been for the Kyuubi's superior knowlege of techniques, combined with centuries of experience, the Blonde could never have subverted the seal and gained the strength he now posessed.

'Still,' he winced, gripping Hinata tighhter to him, 'Stabbing myself with my own fingers hurts like a bitch.' he eyed the bloody digit's, placed firmly on the giant vupline head, and smirked, 'Not as bad as that Tanuki bastards gonna be feeling though.'

"You ready...Aniki?"

Then Kyuubi's muzzle twisted in what could pass as a smirk, to a jackal, and let a drop of saliva drop from his fangs, **"You need to ask?"** he eyed Shukaku with a look of hunger and growled, **"I haven't been hunting in so long, I'm getting out of practice."**

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"Now there's something you don't see every day." Kurama commented, eyeing the massive red Vulpine carefully. Hiei looked up at the redhead in interest.

"What, a giant fox and Tanuki about to go at it?" he snorted, "you know what the Nobles get up to."

Kurama shook his head, "That's not it," he pointed at the Kyuubi's head, "Since when has a noble allowed a human on it's head?"

Hiei blinked looking up at the Kyuubi in disbelief, before snorting and turning his head, "None of our business," he turned on his heel, "We've proven his existence, lets get back to the old hag."

Kurama sighed and gestured to Yusuke and Kuwabara, who were tussling with some sand and sound nin that had enterred the, now destroyed, arena, prompting them to dissapear in a flash of movement. The said nins, bereft of the two teens, turned to the red head and lunged in tandem.

'I guess we'll be seeing you...Naruto-kun.' the redhead noted, before vanishing in a swirl of rose petals, ripping the last of the attacking nins to shreds.

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Sarutobi blinked as the monstrous form of the Kyuubi loomed out from the rubble of the arena, staring down the Tanuki that had preceded it.

"It would appear you're not as pure as you'd like others to believe." the Kazekage mocked, his green eyes mocking, "you sealed the Kyuubi into an infant too."

"The yondaime did so to protect this village." Sarutobi shot back, "he never intended for Naruto to be used as a weapon...like you did your son."

"The man was a fool," the Kazekage snorted, "the bijuu are far to valuable to be allowed to wander around unrestrained."

"The Yondaime valued human life above all else," Sarutobi countered, eyeing the battered wind leader sourly, "or didn't you learn that when he spared YOUR miserable life."

The Kazekage snared and sent a hail of shuriken at his elder counter part, only to be blocked by a mud wall.

"Arashi always said there was good in you, Gendo." Sarutobi muttered solemnly, "He said eveyone deserves a second chance...now I'm no mystic, and reincarnation isn't my specialty..." he glared at the younger man, "But you must have been one HELL of a bastard in your previous life."

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Jiraiya cackled as he sent wave after wave of eneimes packing with a single summoning of his toads, allowing the massive amphibians to wreak havoc on anyone unfortunate enough to get in the perverted sennins way. The fact the he was causing serious damage to propert puplic and private didn't quite rech his atttention.

"You seem to be doing well." Orochimaru commented, instantly causing the sennin to freeze up, causing the pale skinned man to shake his head, "Oh for-! I'm just commenting Jiraiya!"

"Stay outside my personal bubble!" Jiraiya shot back, rolling up a sleeve and pointing at it accusingly, "You're giving me hives!"

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and covered his face in embarassment, watching through the cracks as Jiraiya scratched and whined like a mutt with fleas. 'Gods,' he marvelled, 'one little mistake with a sake bottle and a cold night and they never let you live it down.'

"It's not like 'I' enjoed it any more than you did." he muttered, eyeing the taller sennin with a deadpan expression, "In fact, I had to take a bath in sand for a week to forget the feeling."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Jiraiya screamed, running off and sending eneimes flying as he attempted to put some distance between his former teammate and himself. "ARRRGH! THE MENTAL IMAGES YOU BASTARD!"

Orochimaru sighed and calmly backhanded an attacking sand nin, causing the man's neck to collapse inwards.

"Baka-shkibi." he muttered, "The one time the tree of us actualy got close and he freaks out over the tiniest detail."

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_Hinata sighed, slowly opening her eyes wondering when she'd fallen asleep. __She blinked remembering the coughing fit at the stadium, and sitting up straight, only to find herself completely in the dark._

_'Koko...doko?' she wondered aloud, looking up at the sky, where a pillar of light descended on her, illuminating the area she lay in a circle. The shy Hyuuga got to her feet, dusting herself off and looking around. __'What is...this place?' she wondered, stepping forwards, looking around uncertainly._

_Abrubtly, a blurr of clours surrounded her, causing her eyes to widen as the tried to keep up._

_Fire...great and deadly, burning in the background._

_A snake, Toad and Slug fighting with a monstrous figure ndressed in black and red._

_Armies of Shinobi were marching on the Village, weapons at the ready._

_A massive Fox stood before the armies, howling in rage, as if daring them to step forwards._

_Atop the Fox stood a figure with hair as bright as the sun, above eyes that one minute seemed blue as the sky, the next, as red as blood._

_There was a flash of light, causing the Hyuuga to cover her face. When she opened her eyes, it was to view a nightmare._

_Bodies, hundreds, thousands of bodies, strewn every which way across a barren battlefield, some looked to be torn to pieces, others burnt to a crisp, still more loked like their backs had exploded, or something had punched through them like wet paper bags._

_A sound behind her caused her to turn round._

_Bathed in the light of a crimson moon, a massive figure stood before her. __Stripped to the waist, the lean, muscular figure was spattered with blood, long crimson hair fell to his ankles, the locks hiding his eyes from here._

_He lifted his head slightly, enabling glowing red eyes to gaze out at her, as he reached out a hand, the claw like nails reaching out for her._

_"NARUTO-KUN!"_

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Naruto blinked as he looked down at the Hyuuga, wondering what on earth she could be dreaming about.

'Is it just me..or is she rather flushed?' he wondered, noting the blush on the girl's cheeks, 'must still be recovering.' Shaking his head he eyed the tanuki before him with cold eyes, 'Back to business.' he muttered, patting his 'Aniki' on the head.

"Ike."

Kyuubi growled and leunged forwards, sinking his fangs into the tanuki's shoulder. **'SHIT,'** he cursed, **'FORGOT HOW BAD THIS BASTARD TASTES.' **Shaking his head, ripping out a good-sized chundk of tanuki in the process, the demon-lord leapt back to asses the situation.

Shukaku/Gaara, howled, before inhaling and raising an arm.

**"FUUTON! RENKUUDAN!"**

A massive sphere of wind came barelling out of the Tanuki's mouth, slamming into the fox with what was, apparently, fatal force. A number of watching Shinobi cheered, several of them froim konoha, only to back away in shock as a tail waved through the dust.

**"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?" **Kyuubi called out, almost bored, **"I'VE FARTED HARDER THAN THAT! C'MON BALLS-FOR BRAINS, THAT THE BEST YOU GOT AFTER THIRTEEN YEARS?!"**

Naruto sweatdropped and eyed his aniki with a deadpan expression. "Aniki...language."

"**URUSEI!" **the demon yelled back, **"THE SHUKAKU I KNOW WOULDN'T LET UP WITH A PANSY ASS ATTACK LIKE THAT! SHOW ME WHAT YOUR MADE OF!"**

**"RENKUUDAN RENSHYAAAAA!"**

A volley of air bullets hurlted towards the fox, who responded by wrapping his tails around him like a coiled snake, shielding him, and hs riders, from the worst of the damage.

**"OUTOTO,"** he muttered, **"BRACE YOURSELF!"**

Naruto barely had time to warn Kiba before the massive vulpine began gathering chakra into it's mouth.

**"MEITON!"** Kyuubi yelled out, rearing his head back, **"MA-OH-EN!"**

The massive head snapped forwards, jaws wide to emit a massive fireball compsed entirely of black flames., the fireball slammed into Shukaku's hide, causing the creature to keen in agony, joined shortly by Gaara's own screams.

**"IF THAT DIDN'T WAKE HIM THE FUCK UP NOTHING WILL."** Kyuubi growled, strands of balck smoke trailing between his fangs.

"You gotta teach me to do that sometime." he commented with a whistle, earining a chcukle from the fox.

**"YOU SURE? IT'S MURDER ON THE THROAT YOU KNOW."** he mock-sighed, **"I DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE THIS GROWLING VOICE YOU KNOW, COMPLETELY RUINED MY SINGING CAREER."**

**"THANK GOD FOR THAT,"** a sullen voice callled out, revealing itself as a fully healed Shukaku, **"I NEVER KNEW HOW TO SHUT YOU UP WHEN YOU PUT ON THAT CHOIR-BOY ACT, THANK GOD YOUR BALLS DROPPED EARLY."**

**"YOU'RE A FINE ONE TO TALK ABOUT DROPPING BALLS." **Kyuubi hissed, **"WHO WAS IT WHO BAILED YOU OUT OF ALLTHOSE JAMS IN THE RED-LIGHT DISTRICT?"**

**"WHO WAS IT WHO'D GO OFF WITH THE MOST EXPENSIVE ONES AND LEAVE THE REST OF US WITH THE BILL?"** Shukaku countered, Gaara dangling from his head like an oversized pimple.

The two Jinchuuriki eyed each other as their Bijuu argued over the delicacies of being a 'player' and having a weakness for 'tail.' Both rolled their eyes and covered their faces in embarassment.

"Wanna get a drink later?" Naruto offered, in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood.

"I don't drink." Gaara countered, looking flushed as the demons rambled on, since the discussion had turnedto more...colourful matters.

"Trust me," Naruto muttered, "after listening to THESE two, I highly doubt anyone's gonna wanna be sober anymore."

Gara eyed the arguing demons, who were currently arguing about some geisha they'd both been attracted to, before looked the Blonde in the eyes.

"I'll buy." he deadpanned.

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Sarutobi gasped, trying to catch his breath as he stood over the corpse of the late Yondaime Kazekage. Or rather, the little bloody smear between the tiles which was all that remained of the shinobi leader of the sands.

If there was one thing Sarutobi was proud of it was his ability to get the job done and leave virtually no trace. The smear that was all that remained ofthe Kazekage was barely big enough to register on a cotton swab.

'I'm getting to old for this.' he muttered, holding a hand over his heart while he tried to find his pills, 'It's time for someone else to take up the reins of Hokage.' he smiled sinisterly, recalling the mountains of paperwork awaiting his succesor as he swallowed on of his painkillers, 'And I know just who to ask.'

Even divided by many miles, all three Sannin sneezed simultaneously, before making signs against evil.

Jiraiya's sneeze resulted in a Gamayuendan/goukakyuu combination, which he later claimed was intentional, until he discovered he'd vaporized his favorite peeking spot.

Orochimaru's resultedin several serpents exiting his nostrils, quite painfully, stripping the sennin of his sense of smell for a weekk afterwards.

And as for Tsunade, well let's just say that mis-timed sneezes are really bad during poker matches, especial whenthe reveal the extra cards you'b been hiding up your sleeves.

'Sarutobi-sensei's got that look on his face,' the thought together, 'that CAN'T be good.'

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Well, that's it for now, hopefully I'll update soon.

In all truth, Gaiden was the first true fic I've ever written, so I want to at least finish it off on a good note, but there seems to be a lot in the way.


	17. Chapter 17

well now, I have to admit that, as first fics go, this one needed a lot of work to keep going. Relax, I've no intention of just dropping it, but please be patient.

* * *

Chapter seventeen

Naruto moaned, spitting out the little umbrella that had been in his mouth as he tried to lift his head off the table. A some point during the night, his head had become glued to the bar-top by a substance he REALLY didn't want to identify, meaning there was some pain involved in getting himself free.

"Never again," he vowed, comitting the universal lie as he twisted his tongue, "Urgh, why does my mouth taste like a badgers ass?" he muttered, looking round the bar to some surprise.

The konoha jounin had celebrated the defeat of the sand and sound by doing what they did best, getting absolutely shit-faced and making an ass of themselves. Kakashi had deigned to join in, though the blonde suspected that the one-eyed bastard had spiked his drink with something illegal. He snickered as he recalled Gai's druken antics in a lampshade, and not much else, as the man had danced the naked hula around his rival, causing Kakashi to foam at the mouth and be carted away by disgusted medic nins, who vowed to return as soon as they dumped his 'lazy ass off'.

A moan from the corner caused the blonde to look up, grinning as Gaara climbed to his feet, the redhead having folishly challenged Anko to a drinking compition in his drunken state. The cons? Gaara was still a teenager, despite being a jinchuuriki, and so suffered from the mother of all hangovers. The pros? nko was prone to strip-tease when properly inebriated, mind you this could take hours to achieve, but was really worth the certain liver failure.

"You look like crap." Naruto noted, raising an eyebrow as Gaara stood up fully, "Where the hell are your pants?"

"Over there." Gaara replied, pointing to a mounted racoon skull which looked sufficiently surprised, "Ugh, what the hell did I do last night?"

"Got the hottest, most elligibkle jounin in Konoha naked and dancing," Naruto responded, his healing powers putting his headache to rest, "You're gonna be a legend round here." He sweatdropped as he noticed the recumbant form of Ebisu hanging from the ceiling fan like some sort of drunken marionette. "I ain't cleaning this up."

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"It's worse than we thought," Orochimaru muttered, "It seems Sasori of Akatsuki has infiltratedmy entire operation...who knows how long he's been panning this."

"My guess it's been since you let that brat Kabuto into the sound." Jiraiya muttered, "So what're we gonna do sensei? they sure palyed us for saps back there."

Sarutobi nodded, smoking his pipe as he eyed the damage reports wearily, "We need to focus on rebuilding," he stated, "However, there is an important matter wwhich I need to discuss with you both."

Jiraiya eyed Orochimaru, the two taking a cautionary step back, only to freeze as Sarutobi glared at them.

"I'm old," the man muttered, "I should have retired as Hokage years ago, but I kept going because I knew that if I stood down the council would elect someone who would destroy everything I worked for."

He eyed the two sanin carefully, smiling as the look of childish fear crossed their eyes, as it had done in their youth.

"Sensei," Orochimaru warned though his eyes showed fear,LOTS of fear, "You're doing it again."

"Yeah," Jiraiya seconded, "LAST time you got that look in your eyes, Oro and I ended up wearing girl's Yukatas!"

"I thought it looked good on me." Orochimaru uttered offhandedly, earning a look of disgust from Jiraiya, "What? I can't help it if I look good in-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Jiraiya screeched, hands over his ears as his hives started acting up again, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! TRA LA LA!"

Sarutobi sweatdropped, before shaking his head resignedly, "The fact remains that, as my only students, I ask you who we should nominate for Hokage."

"Tsunade." the two sanin replied in sync, earning a chuckle from the man as he shook his head.

"Oh? and why would she make a better Godaime than, say, YOU Orochimaru?"

"She is the granddaughter of Shodai sama, the very lifeblood of Konoha flows through her veins," the snake sannin nodded appreciatively, "She's also the most famous medical ninja in the world, she'll be a tremendous asset in training new medic-nins."

"She's got more sex-appeal than Oro-chan anyway," Jiraiya added, blinking as the two stared at him with deadpan expressions, "What?! She does!"

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Sasuke growled as he hid behind the bushes, watching as his damn stalkers refused to just piss off. What reason had he to be interested in a bunch of weak little girls who couldn't even pass the academy exam?

He shook his head and used shunshin to put some distance between them, walking calmly towards the Uchiha distyrict, of which he was the sole current occupant.

'Wait, Kakashi said he wanted to see me.' the teen recalled, 'Wonder what the big deal is, some new jutsu?'

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"If we're going after Tsunade, I have a demand," Jiraiya stated, nodding to his sensei, "I met this interesting kid a while ago, and I'd like to take him with us."

"I'd like that as well," Orochimaru noted, "Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun are wasting their talents under someone like Kakashi, the man is an able jounin, but his teaching skills are sorely lacking."

"Agreed," Sarutobi stated, "I give you permission to bring Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke to retrieve Tsunade." He eyed the two Jounin carefully, "Keep in contact, and find out what you can on Akatsuki."

The two nins bowed, before walking out the door together, the bear-like Jiriya towering over his teammate. After a moment of silence, they leaned againmst the wall and exhaled loudly.

"I thought he was going to blackmail US into being Hokage!" Jiraiya gasped, trembling in relief, "Can you imagine the horror?!"

"All that paperwork..." Orochimaru shivered, "And having to listen to those wrinkly old bastards on the council bitch and whine all day..." he shook himself and coughed, "Tsunade's perfect for the job."

"Yeah," Jiraiya agreed, "Once SHE puts her foot down it stays down...no matter who's under it." he added as an afterthought.

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Tsunade stared in disbelief at the slot machine as it announced she'd won the grand prize, money pouring out of the slots like rivers. Shizune was squeelig in joy as she twirled a startled ton-ton around like a toddler.

'This sin't good!' Tsunade predicted, 'Something evil is afoot...but last I checked Jiraiya was in Kumo, looking for 'research', and Orochimaru's been buy setting up his own village.'

She shook her head and collected her winnings, only to blink as a machine she passed began spewing out more money.

'Okay, now I KNOW something's going on!'

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Kakashi flinched as he sensed a familiar chakra signature in the dango shop behind him, noting the two gifures calmly sipping tea indoors.

'So he's come home.' the copy-nin muttered, 'dammit, I can't let Sasuke get too close!'

"C'mon," he gestured to the newly arrived Uchiha, "we're going to start training to further master the sharingan/chidori combo."

Sasuke shrgged adn followed after the man, nodding to Kurenai and Asuma who nodded, before turning to follow the two men as they left the store.

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"We seem to have picked up a couple of tails, Itachi-san", the larger figure commented offhandedly, "Quite interesting ones too."

"Asuma-san and Kurenai-san." the shorter of the two remarked, "A close range and genjutsu specialist respectively." He paused as the mentioned individuals appeared before them. "Well now," he commented calmly, "You two have aed well."

Asuma's eyes widened as Itachi lowered his straw hat and opened the front two buttons of his coat, displaying his face for all to see.

"We aren't here to start a war," itachi stated, his ever present sharingan spinning slowly, "hwever, anyone that interferes with my mission will be cut down." He eyed the two jounin carefully, "Even you, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san."

"It seems you two are familliar with Itachi-san." the larger figure commented, removing his hat to reveal a shark-like face, "I suppose introductions are in order then."

"Hosigaki Kisame," Kurenai noted, "Former swordsman of Kirigakure, wanted for rebelling against the Mizukage." She stepped closer to Asuma, who pulled out his trench knives.

"They're well informed," Kisame muttered, "What should we do, Itachi-san?"

"We've wasted enough time as it is," the Uchiha prodigy muttered, lowering his hands, full of shuriken, "finish it off quickly."

Kisame grinned and lunged forwards, swining his sword down at the surprised Asuma with startling force. Itachi spun to the side and hured the shuriken at Kurenai, only for her to replace herself with a log. The curly haired Jounin then tried to capture the prodigy in an illusion, only for it to backfire as he used his sharingan against her.

"ShinEE!" Kisame yelled, only to be blocked by a VERY familiar looking blade, "What in the?!"

"Sashiburi-danee," Zabuza muttered behind his bandages, having blocked Kisame's weapon with his own, "Kisame-sensei."

Itachi hurled a kunai at the restrained Kurenai, only for it to be deflected, and for him to lep out onto the water as a dragon's head nearly smashed him into the pavement.

"Kakashi-sempai," he noted aloofly, eyeing the jounin impassively, "Late as always."

Suman," Kakshi muttered, "But I have a valid excuse this time." he lifted his hita-ate to reveal his sharingan, scowling at the Uchiha murderer, "I needed time to think up a way to kick your ass."

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	18. Chapter 18

Been a while hasn't it? No doubt some of you are sick of me by now. So as to appease those who would harm me, here's the latest chapter for all you happy people!

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Chapter Eighteen.

Itachi looked into the mismatched eyes of his opponent, his dual sharingan seeming oddly intrigued for some reason. "This is unlike you...Kakashi Sempai." he noted, "You actually came up with a relevant excuse."

"I'll try not to make it a habit," Kakashi replied, the two staring at each other like circling wolves, the water rippling beneath them. Meanwhile, off to the side, two former mist shinobi were duking it out. The shorter of the two was Momochi Zabuza, former Kirigakure no Kijiin, the other, his former master and comrade, Hoshigaki Kisame, the infamous Kirigakure no Kiishin.

Kubikiri Houcho deflected the massive Samehada, sparks flying through the air as the shaving blade scraped along the sides. Zabuza moved for a diagonal upward strike, only for Kisame to block, rotating with the blow for a horizontal swing.

"You've improved, Zabuza." the shark man noted, teeth bared in an ninsane grin of approval, "You never lasted this long in direct combat with me."

"I'm not your protege anymore," the bandaged nin replied, guarding a strike to the elbow, "and unlike these leaf nin, I know your fighting style better than anyone."

The two leapt apart, flipping through identical seals as twin sharks formed from the water around them. "SUITON: SUIKODAN NO JUTSU!" they yelled in tandem, the two sharks smashing into each other, showering them with water.

"Your seal speed has increased," Kisame noted, raising an eyebrow, "And it's certainly true that fighting a colleague is as bad as fighting against the sharingan."

"I don't need some fancy eye to tell what you're going to do," Zabuza declared, pointing at his former sensei, "You taught me everything I know, and I know you better than anyone."

Kisame leered at the smaller man and gripped his sword hilt, "That may be true, but you're forgetting something." he slammed the tip of the blade oinn the water, emitting a spike of chakra that blasted the water in the air. "I have more chakra than anyone in the land of mist...even the Mizukage pales in comparison."

"That is certainly true," Zabuza muttered, gripping his sword hilt, "Your strength is certainly higher, my speed is certainly higher, your chakra capacity is higher, my speed with seals is higher." he narrowed his eyed at the man, pointing his zanbatou at him, "However, our skill with swords is equal, when all is said, we are equal."

Kisame leered, lifting his sword onto his shoulder, "Well then," he stated, "shall we settle this the old fashioned way?" he made a ram seal with one hand, mist begining to form around them.

"Let's settle this...with a game of Oni-Goko"

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Kakashi hurled kunai at the Uchiha, only for several to shoot out from underwater and deflect them. He leapt aside as another Itachi lunged out of the water, a swift knife hand to the throat dispelling the bunshin as he leapt into the air.

"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!" the copy nin called out, two shadow clones forming in a triangle around the Uchiha, flipping through an individual set of seals.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

"Suiton Daibakufu no jutsu!"

"Futon: Daitoppa!"

The three techniques lunged towards the target, colliding in a veritable malestrom that caused waves to lash agasinst the shore. When it cleared, the water was bare, but Kakashi knew better than to let his guard down, and so dodged to the side as one of his clones took a kunai in the throat.

"As expected os 'Sharingan' Kakashi," Itachi praised, his tone calm as usual, "You truly live up to your reputation as master of a 1000 jutsu." The prodigy eyed the older jounin carefully, "You mastery of the sharingan is indeed impressive, but a transplanted eye can never compare to TRUE mastery, which only an Uchiha may attain."

"I wouldn't know," Kakashi replied, frowning at the man, "Konoha's been having a shortage of Uchiha blood recently." He continued to glare as Asuma and Kurenai appeared beside him, the former looking annoyed at having his favourite smokes drenched, "Back me up, Asuma," he instructed, "Kurenai, you keep an eye out for genjutsu."

They blinked as a trail of mist floated by, looking over to see a massive dome of mist had formed around the area where Zabuza and Kisame were fighting.

"It would appear that Kisame is finally getting serious," Itachi noted, drawing attention back to himself with a sigh, closing his eyes, "Very well...I suppose it can't be helped."

Kakashi scowled, before staring in horror as the Uchiha slowly opened his eyes, some base instinct warning him of the danger. "Close your eyes!" he ordered, earning looks of confusion from his companions, "Only another sharingan can face THAT genjutsu!"

Asuma and Kurenai did as instructed, leaving only Kakashi, his normal eye shut tight, to gaze into Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan, the world spinning around hm as a result.

"GUAAAAAGHH!"

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Sasuke cursed as he marched through the streets, wondering where the hell Kakashi had dissapeared to, when he bumped into Naruto and the redheaded sand nin from the invasion.

"S'up Sasuke?" the blonde greeted, "What's up? you look pretty pissed." he looked around in interest, "One of your gay stalkers cop a feel?"

"Fuck off," Sasuke muttered, thumping the blonde on the shoulder, "Have you seen Kakashi anywhere? He was supposed to help me train."

"Not today," Naruto replied, munching on a piece of dango while Gaara stared at his own in confusion, "For the love of GOD Gaara it's food, it isn't gonna bite you!"

The redhead eyed the dango suspiciously, before picking it up and devouring one of the balls, a look of surprise coming to his face. "It's...good." he finished, munching at the rest with increased zeal."

"You see?" Naruto replied, munching on his own, "There a whole world of good things to eat out there, though Ramen's still my favourite." He stood up, patting himself off and waved to the redhead, "I'll see you around, gotta track down my sensei."

Gaara waved a dismissive hand, flagging down another tray of dango as the duo left. "You two seem to be getting along well," Sasuke noted, earning a snort of amusement from his teammate.

"What? Jealous?" Naruto teased, earning a punch to the shoulder, "anyway, you say Kakashi just ditched you?"

Sasuke nodded, "He said he wanted to train me, but then he fell to the ground screaming, only to dissapear in a puff o smoke," he nodded in understanding, "so it had to be a kagebunshin."

"Makes sense," Naruto muttered, "but what could cause the bunshin to disengage like that?" He blinked as he almost bumped into someone, looking up into a familiar face, "Ero-sennin?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ERO-SENNIN?!" Jiraiya yelled, punching the blonde on the head, before calming down, "You should respect your elders brat, especially ones of my calibre."

"The only elder I respect is Sandaime-jiji," Naruto replied, earning a snort of amusement from Sasuke, "and besides, how in the hell can I respect a pervert?"

"He's got you there Jiraiya," a cultured voice pointed out, casuing the trio to spin round to face Orochimaru, who was leaning against the wall, "Sashiburidana, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto blinked, pointing at the snake sennin in confusion, "What's ero-hebi doing here?" he wondered, causing Orochimaru to stumble and Jiraiya to burst out laughing.

'Ero-hebi?' Orochimaru wondered, 'I haven't been called that since Tsunade-hime left.' he shook his head, smiling at the fond memories. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, Sandaime-sensei has given Jiraiya and myself a mission to retrieve the new Godaime."

Jiraiya grinned at the looks of cshock on the teens' faces, "Now naturally we accepted, but we wanted to bring you two along for the ride." He grinned at Naruto, "Whadd'ya say? I can power you up a lot faster than Kakashi."

Naruto was about to mutter a sarcastic remark when he caught the look in Sasuke's eyes. It was a look of hunger at the prospect of power, nad he just knew that if he didn't tag along to keep his friend in check, he could revert back to 'angst mode' at any time.

"Give us time to get ready," he muttered, patting Sasuke on the shoulder, "We'll meet you at the gates in an hour."

Jiraiya nodded, and the two vanished using Shunshin, leaving leaves dancing in their wake.

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Zabuza panted for breath as the mist died away. A massive wound leaked bloo in his flank, the flesh looking as if it had been shaved as Kisame approached a t a leisurly pace.

"You did well to last this long," the shark man noted, dragging his sword through the water like a shark fin, "but when it all comes down to it, you're still a guppy to my shark."

Zabuza growled, his bandages having come loose during the exchange, eyeing his former mentor warily. 'This is bad,' he deduced, 'I've lost too much blood, and he's hardly scratched.' he feebly tried to move, only for the pain in his flank to spike, 'Ugh, forgot how deadly that damn samehada was...fucking monster.'

He glanced over to the side, wincing as Kakashislumped to his knees on the water, 'Fuck...that other ones a real bastard too...gotta do something!'

"It's over," Kisame stated, lifting Samehad over his head with an air of finaliy, "But I'll give you credit...you really did improve since the last time I saw you."

Zabuza glared up at the akatsuki as the asword came down, only to blink as a green blur hurled itself through the air, sending the shark-man flying.

"KONOHA GOURIKI SENPUU!"

'Oh no,' Zabuza prayed, shaking in restrained disgust as Kisame landed on the water a good ten feet away, 'not that...ANYTHING but that!'

"HA Ha HA! ZABUZA-SAN! YOU'RE HAVING SOME TROUBLE!" the apparition gave the former mist nin a thumbs up, teeth shining with a metalic ting, "FEAR NOT, KONOHA'S BIZARRE BLUE BEAST, MAITO GAI, SHALL ASSIST YOU!"

'I'd rather have Kisame-sensei slice me to ribbons,' Zabuza muttered glaring at the beast in disgust 'but the next issue of Icha-Icha's due out soon and I won't die till I've read it.'

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Itachi looked over as his partner was sent flying courtesy of a kick to the jaw, raising an eyebrow at the bizarre apparition responsible for the deed. "Konoha's Gouken taijutsu master, Maito Gai." he deadpanned, "The only man capable of competing head to head with Hatake Kakashi on an even playing field."

He blinked, feeling a bizzare chill settle over his frame, before leaping to the side as the water he'd been standing ion froze at an unnatural rate, several senbon needles forming out of water and chasing him as he dashed away.

"You should watch your back," Haku called out, appearing from the water, dressed in ANBU gear, her hunter nin mask in place, "I may just stab you in in it."

"Zabuza's apprentice," Itachi noted, "we posses detailed information on you and your sensei courtesy of Kisame." He eyed the young kunoichi warily, "Though I must admit it is a surprise to find you working for Konoha."

A kunai slammed into the back of Haku's neck, only for the masked nin to turn into water, revealing itself as a Mizu bunshin. A blur of motion to the right heralded a hail of senbon, Itachi leaping back, blinking as several mirrors formed around him.

"Surrender," Haku called out, appearing in each of the mirros, "You and your partner are outmatched."

Itachi looked around with a bored expression, before poofing out of existence, revealing it to be a shadow clone. The real Itachi climbed out of the water, dry as a bone and looking a little annoyed. "Kisame," he called out, catching the enraged shark man's attention, "We didn't come here to start a war."

Kisame cursed, glaring at Gai as he teleported next to his partner, "Can't be helped," he muttered, using Mizu Sunshin to teleport the two out of there. "I'll remember you." he growled, glaring at Gai as he vanished.

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Kakashi stumbled, sinking beneath the waters until a firm hand dragged him up into the air, Asuma supporting him across his shoulders. 'Naruto...' he whispered, 'Sasuke...beware...'

"KAKASHI!" Asuma barked, shaking the nin as he passed out, "SHIT! we gotta get him to a medic!"

"Zabuza-san needs help as well," Kurenai noted, helping Haku suppor the former mist jounin, the latter having already bandaged his side.

Gai took in the situation, before dashing off to alert the sandaime on what had happened. 'A good thing i had challenged Haku-chan to a race around the village!' he thought, 'Had we arrived one second later...'

The beast didn't wan't to think about it, and so sped off as fast as he could towards the Hokage tower.

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"You all set?" Jiraiya asked, looking the duo over whilst Orochimaru leaned against the wall, dressed in his best travelling kimono. "then let's go!"

'This guy's supposed to be one of the sannin?' Naruto wondered suspiciously, watching as Jiraiya marched on like a happy go lucky kid, 'At least Ero-hebi's acting all reserved.'

"Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru called out, "I understand you lack a summoning contract?" he smiled at the look of confusion on the Uchiha's face, before tossing him a seal with the Uchiha familly crest. "I swiped that from a mutual acquaintance of ours a while ago, I believe it should be with you."

Sasuke ran his eyes over the summoning scroll in interest, blinking as he noticed his mother's name as the last on the list. 'The cat summoning scroll?' he wondered, 'Well Itachi has a crow summoning one...so I guess this works.'

"As Jiraiya no doubt explained to your colleague," orochimaru instructed, nodding at Naruto, "you need to sign the contract in your own blood, and then make the correct seals whilst gathering as much chakra as possible."

He held up a finger, "Kakashi tells me you can do two chidori a day right? That means you should at least be able to perform the technique once if you put all your effort into it."

Sasuke nodded, before biting his thumb and opening the scroll. Naruto watched on as his teammate got to work, before turning his attention over to Jiraiya. "So what the hell'd you call me out for, Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya swiped at him, only for the blonde to dodge, "Humph! I noted your potential during the fight, and besides, you remind me a lot of myself when I was young."

"Wow," Naruto muttered, "I remind an old fossil of himself, how wonderful." he dodged again before smirking up at the man, "Just teasing, so what is it you're going to be teaching me?"

"I'll show you at the next town." the sannin replied, scowling good naturedly at the teen, "In the meantime, why don't you keep an eye on your friend, Orochimaru has a nasty habit of forgetting not everyone's like him."

The sennin was cut off as a massive cat appeared out of nowherer and pounced on him, tossing him into the air like a ball of yarn.

"Oh dear," orochimaru muttered, supporting an exhausted Sasuke, "Perhaps he wasn't quite ready yet."

"ORO-CHAN!" Jiraiya yelped, being tossed in the air repeatedly by the oversized kitten, "STOP THIS CRAZY THING!"

Naruto looked between the two sennin and gripped his head as he felt the mother of all migranes kick in. 'I swear to god, Kakashi-sensei better have a DAMN good excuse for not showing up.'

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"I hate running away." Kisame grumbled, his cheek still aching from Gai's kick, "and to top it all off, we gotta go through two of the sannin?"

"Orochimaru would not be a problem." Itachi monotoned, "However, his genius combined with the raw cunning of Jiraiya COULD prove difficult."

"Hm," Kisame nodded, "Power-wise Orochimaru was the weakest of the three, he excelled in trickery and subterfuge." he eyed the wailing form of Jiraiya in amusement, "Jiraiya was supposedly the easiest to trick, but made up for it by being as stubborn as a ox."

"Brains and brawn." Itachi noted with a nod, "However without their unifying link the two of them can be easily torn part."

Kisame eyed the Uchiha carefully, before shaking his head with a sigh, "Itachi-san...you're not still holding a grudge are you?"

"We're going." Itachi cut in, turning on his heel to follow the group from a distance, earning a sigh from his partner as he moved to catch up.

'Yare-yare...' Kisame muttered exhasperatedly, 'It's been nine years already Itachi-san, get over it.' he chuckled to himself and fell instep behind his teammate, 'Ah well, they say there's nothing more amusing than an Uchiha scorned after all.'

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And there we have it!

What could be crawling up Itachi's ass? Will Jiraiya escape from the Neko of doom? Will Naruto survive long enough before commiting hara-kiri to escape the madness?

Who knows! I do that's who! BWAHAHA!

Ehm, R&R PLZ!!!!

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	19. Chapter 19

FORSOOTH! The almighty Kyugan didst dust off his gauntlets and slay the almight demon KOKBLOK!

Understudy: Er...dude? It's WRYTRZBLOK.

Narrator: What? (Reads lines) Oh...Screw it! On with the show!

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Chapter Twenty

If there was one thing Naruto hated more than anything, it was to be kept waiting.

It wasn't that he was an impatient little fucker, oh no, with Hatake Kakashi as a Jounin sensei, he'd developed enough patience to outfit a legion of bloodthirsty berserkers...hyped up on Red Bull and Coffee beans.

So after three hours of competing with Sasuke in games of speed shogi (Dead even), Arm wrestling (10-6, his arm got tired), and the ever popular 'I-spy' (How in the hell Sasuke had spotted a face in the wall he hadn't a bloody clue) he was ready to go out on the town.

"Screw this I'm out." the blonde muttered, stretching his limbs and popping his neck into place "You comin' with? Or do ya plan on playing 'kissy face' with you're wall buddy?"

Sasuke merely scoffed and joined him, shooting the knothole that looked far to eerily similar to a lecherous old academy instructor he'd known for comfort. "I wonder where those two got off to." the Uchiha wondered, hands in his pockets as he walked alongside his teammate, easily matching paces "Orochimaru doesn't strike me as the type to visit the red light district."

"Probably got dragged along looking for Ero-sennin." Naruto muttered offhandedly, shaking his head in mock disgust, glaring at the surroundings irritably.

"Can't you use your doujutsu to track them?" Sasuke asked, his own Sharingan active as he tried to locate those with developed chakra signatures, or rather, those with enough chakra to pass the shinobi status quo. Though considering exactly what was passing for genin these days, this was harder than you'd think.

"Here?" Naruto replied, looking at the Uchiha like he was mad "This is a place picked out by Ero-sennin, people are probably doing the nasty all over the place!"

"Oh come on..." Sasuke muttered, only to blink as he realized the blonde wasn't joking. if anything he looked absolutely repulsed "You're actually serious?"

"As a heart attack." Naruto muttered, "I had it active shortly after we came to town...let's just say the couple going at it next door must've paid a fortune for the soundproofing."

"Too much bloody information." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head and wishing desperately he could bleach his brain to clear the images out of them, even as a high-pitched shriek tore through the air.

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"You're evil, you know that?" Kisame prodded, lurking in a dark corner as he heard the gut-wrenching, ball twisting scream echoe throughout the town "Not even the devil deserved that."

"Don't you think it's fitting however?" Itachi replied, eyeing the scene before him with his usual deadpan expression...or rather, his deadpan expression with the barest hint of a quirked lip "He does claim to possess...animal magnetism."

"There's 'Animal' and then there's 'Animal'." Kisame pointed out, shuddering as yet another scream shattered the air, the sound of a scuffle breaking out, ducking into the alcove even as a kitchen Knife embedded itself in the wall , a hair's breadth from scratching Itachi's cheek "Shit! how's he doing that?!"

"He's very...Flexible." Itachi deadpanned, his Sharingan spinning mercilessly in the shadows, looking up to espy his brother and the vessel as they fought their way through the crowd "Come, we move."

"Can't we move AWAY from what's going on?" the shark man implored, only to sigh and trudge after his partner, his eyes screwed as resolutely shut as was possible without tearing his eyelids to shreds.

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"Alright what's all the ruccus?" Naruto demanded, eyeing the looks of fascinated disgust on the gathered faces with trepidation. Some were even spweing their guts as they staggered away in horror, though he did catch the occasional, make that numerous, odd one that seemed to be either snapping pictures or scribbling something down in little notebooks.

"S'like a train-wreck..." one of the sickly muttered, looking decidedly green as he staggered off, his eyes seeing nothing as he trembled "Wanna look away...but can't..."

Sasuke shot his teammate a look, an eyebrow arched in silent testimony to the fact he hadn;t understood a word of what the man had just said either. With simultaneous nods, the duo made their way through the crowd with the standard Shinobi crowd control technique of employing elbows, knees feet and various pointy implements to tender areas, whilst simultaneously making sure they weren't seen doing it.

Though as they finally broke through the crowd to gaze into the inner circle, they promptly re-estimated the need to be there...or within several miles of the city for that matter.

"BOYS!" Jiraiya squealed, his eyes wide and bulging, hives bursting agonizingly along every exposed piece of skin as he fought to frree himself from the constrictions of his snake-like companion, who was currently nibbling on his neck "GET HIM THE HELL OFF OF ME!"

"Don' be like that Jai-jai..." the serpent slurred, long purple tongue licking the already hysterical sennin's face in what was probably intended to be comforting, but only added further incentive for the man to freak out "Can' help it youse gots a nice ath..."

Jiraiya howled in indignant terror as said part of his anatomy was groped, rolling around like he was on fire in an attempt to dislodge his inebriated companion. Orochimaru wasn;t having any of it however, and promplty tightened himself to the larger sennin's body like a boa-constrictor...EXACTLY like a boa constrictor as it turned out. "C'mon handshome..." he drawled out, nech stretching so he was eye to eye with his terrified captive "Givush shom shugah...!"

Jiraiya's scream was replaced with a loud, disgustingly wet sound of suction, though his attemtps to break free only seemed to double. The suction ended with an audible 'pop', followed by a round of retching and cursing that caused many to flush scarlet.

"Now thash wha i'm talkin' abouts..." Orochumaru slurred, head titling upside down on his limp neck as Jiraiya puked his guts out "Wanna go again?"

Naruto, having seen quite enough of this ngihtmare to last him an eternity, propmtly turned on his heal, back straight as a poker, and marched back through the dumbstruck crowd, an equally stiff Sasuke at his side. Nither looked at the other, their arms practically soldered to their sides as they marched through the suddenly relenting wall of bodies, only seperating for the briefest of seconds as they stepped around a rather stoned looking hottie in a low cut dress, before marching down the street, still not looking at each other.

"That was quite possibly the single most traumatizing thing I've seen in my entire life" Naruto muttered, shuddering in revulsion as the memory of the scene crept up on him, unbidden."

"Indeed."

"I mean, c'mon, I grew up with a fucking nine-talied demon fox of death and destruction for a roomate in my skull and the worse HE ever did was teach me how the world was a complete and utter bastard."

"It IS a little stacked isn't it?"

"And I've nothing againt...you know...but I never figured Ero-sennin'd willingly allow himself to get caught up like that..." he shuddered, "I mean c'mon! Kyuubi's trying to commit Hara-kiri inside my skull after seeing that!"

"That WOULD be unfortunate." his companion noted, Naruto finally snapping out of his rant long enough to realise that it WASN'T Sasuke he was talking to. For one thing the man was several feet taller, decked out in a rather cool looking, high collared black cloak, adorned with random red clouds. If it was any cosolation however, the sharingan eyes gazing into his own obviously marked the man as an Uchiha, which explained why his presence hadn't immediately been noticed, since he smelled oddly simillar to Sasuke, but the lines that marred the otherwise young features and impassive stare were not something the avenger could've hoped to pull off without overdosing on botox and painkillers.

"Uzumaki Naruto-kun." Itachi drawled, his tone flat, unthreatening, yet layered with enough authority and genjutsu to make the oceans part and mountains stand aside "You will come with me."

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"Good Kami-sama, what the hell are those two thinking." Sasuke muttered, his eyes shut tight as he tried to mentally banish the memory of the scene from his brain. It was times like these that the Uchiha's patented 'seishin-sekken no jutsu' came in handy, and he was all to eager to scour his mind of every least traumatizing detail. "I mean...GOD!"

"You're tellin' me?" his companion muttered, sounding audibly disgusted "Half the time I don't even know what that bastard's thinking, let alone what he's gonna pull next."

Sasuke would have replied had he not noticed that the man he was talking to was decidedly NOT his odd, yet helpful, teammate, but rather a massive crossbreed of what appeared to be a man and a shark, decked out in a black cloak with rec clouds, a massive, bandaged sword sling over one shoulder and a slashed mist hiati-ate on his head.

"I tell ya, that guy really knows how to torture people." the shark man muttered, ignoring the fact that Sasuke had leapt into a ready stance, Kunai in each hand "I've seen some scary shit in my time, hell, who hasn;t in this day and age, but he always manages to give me the freakin' creeps...if it weren;t for Leader-sama's orders I'd have switched partners in a second."

"Who the hell're you?!" Sasuke snapped, eyeing the shark man warily, his sharingan almost aching from the sheer amount of chakra he could detect coming off the man. What worried him more was the residual chakra he could sense around the weapon, if a weapon it was. The mere presence of chakra implied there was something organic about it.

"Wow...you reacted just like Itachi-san said you would..." the man noted, a hint of amusement in his voice, even as he watched the teen;s blood run cold, the knuckles gripping the kunai blanching under the preassure of his tightening joints "Still, I suppose introductions are in order..."

With one hand he drew his massive weapon, lifting it up high and bringing it down with a crash, creating a massive dent in the road, all of his shark-like teeth on display as he leered at the younger Uchiha sibling. "Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly of Kirigakure elite swordsmen..." he levelled the massive weapon at the tenn's face with one hand "Wanna dance, Sasuke-chan?"

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Just as Itachi was reaching for his shoulder, Naruto's Kyugan flared into life, startling the elder Uchiha for a millisecond, more than enough time to summon half a dozen bunshin to stab him with. Howver, the Itachi they stabbed merely expanded, Chakra surging through him like a tsunami, the clones crying out in alarm as the bunshin exploded, taking out a good portion of street with it.

'Having the ability to see through genjutsu is pretty damn useful.' Naruto noted with a hint of pride, leaping around and sending a salvo of Shuriken Kagebunshin at his pursuer 'Too bad Uchiha tend to get a little prissy if you don;t give 'em what they want.'

A fact he'd learned the hard way, several times, trying to talk Sasuke oput of training 24 hours a day. The Uchiha clan, he deduced were far to used to using their Sharingan to get their own way, either by coercion or by simply recording what they wanted. If their prized Doujutsu failed them in this regard, then it was time to whip out some of said previously garnered jutsu.

And unfortunately for him, Kakashi wasn't the ONLY person in the world with the experience to properly weild a sharingan. In fact, you could consider Kakashi's level of mastery the equivalent of learning the alphabet, when compared to the quantum physical genius that was Itachi's own experience.

Naruto swore as he dodged another swipe from the older, clearly more experienced ninja. He didn't doubt for a minute that in regards to chakra capacity and stamina, he had the elder Uchiha beat. One of the Sharingan's ultimate weaknesses was it consumed an assload of chakra the longer it was activated, and if used to record jutsu, the process was accelerated.

The problem with this however, is that most Uchiha had fairly impressive reserves of chakra, since from tender ages they were expected to perform the B-class Goukakyuu no jutsu. Also, from what he recalled, Uchiha Itachi had been a prodigy, easily surpassing the vaunted Kakashi in regards to talent, skill, genius and capacity. It didn;t hurt that he had a larger fanbase than the cyclops either, and had taken up the Jounin's position as ANBU captain not soon after graduating the academy...which he;d graduated from three years prior.

In lamans terms, it was like fighting ten Kakashi's, even without Kage Bunshin.

While all this was going on, Itachi was evaluating his opponent, as he always did, weighing in strengths and weknesses, factoring in personality traits, and overall scanning and estimating the youth's battle level. He was, if not impressed, then at least intrigued by the boys growth. From what he'd heard, the boy was a bit of an oddity, even amongst the vast assortment of freaks Konoha had in its menagerie.

_'Taijutsu: Konoha Gouken Ryuu variation; (Note: Greater emphasis on fast attacks) 500 points. __Ninjutsu: Varied, highly skilled in Kage bunshin, according to rumors, can release inner demon; 3000 points. __Genjutsu: undetermined, can resist a direct order from developed sharingan genjutsu command; 2000 points.'_

_'Tactics: Use of Kagebunshin and cramped surroundings to confuse opponent, High speed Kawarimi and Taijutsu combined with weapon attacks. (note: Taken battle to rooftops to avoid civillian populace); 2000 points. __Innovativeness: Use of Kage-henge to transform clones into weapons/inanimate objects, Use of Clones to create individual jutsu, Familiarization with surroundings within short space of time; 1500 points.'_

_'Chakra capacity: Undeterminable. __Potential for Growth: Extremly High'_

_'Overall battle level:...9000+'_

"It seems that Kakashi-sempai is good for something other than keeping up walls." the prodigy noted offhandedly, swatting the real Naruto aside out of a horde of clones, dispaatching the rest with a casually tossed Kunai "Though I suppose your own natural talent is directly to blame for your growth."

"Ain't nothing natural about me." Naruto shot back, grinning even as he eyed the solemn Uchiha with a savage grin on his face "Now I see why's Sasuke's always busting his balls during training...you're a helluva a guy to wanna dick around with."

Itachi refused to respond to the youth's callouse words, and instead opted for driving his foot into said youth's jaw, pinning him to the wall, even as he stabbed Kunai into his palms to hold them in check.

"Khk...not one for pillow talk are ya?" Naruto joked, grinning despite the size 12 shinobi sandal pressed into his cheek "Feh, you're just like Sasuke, down to the stick up your ass."

Itachi seemed to fall silent for a few seconds, eyeing the teen's mocking red eyes with his own, tomoe encircled ones, his face hiden by the high collar of his cloak. "Sasuke..." he began, his tone emotionless, yet somehow different from before "...has he been well?"

Naruto blinked, eyeing the living embodiement of everything in Sasuke's life that was 'FUBAR' as if he'd suddenly sprouted another head. However, if the man was talking to him, he wasn;t trying to stab anything else into him, and he needed time before Kyuubi's chakra dissolved the iron in the Kunai.

"Oh sure, just peachy." he replied, eyeing the apparent psychopath sarcastically "If you don't count the fact he spends every single, and I'm serious, I've had to bunk with the guy till the village is repaired, Godsdamned waking moment trying to kill you." he snorted "Other than that, he eats well, or has been since I moved in anyways, seems to be lightening up too, though if you ask me he needs to either get laid or come out of the damned closet before he bursts. Guy's WAY to repressed considering we're from Konoha."

"I...see." Itachi noted, his thoughts, as ever, unfathomable to anyone, even without the collar concealing his features. Even the man;s own parents hadn't been able to suss him out, an un related brat, albeit one with exceptional talent and the power of the ninth bijuu backing him up, couldn't even come close "Then he...has become strong?"

"Strong-ER." Naruto corrected, eyeing his captor warily "Doubt he could go a round with, say, Gaara on his own, but he's at least chunin level in regards to skill and power."

"I...see." Itachi muttered, and for a moment, Naruto thought he saw a flash of pride in those blazing red eyes, but then it was gone, and the cold, stiletto steel in his voice returned "You shall come with me."

Naruto snorted, a grin stretching across his features as he felt the kunai in his palms begin to break "Yeah...about that?" he stated, before snapping his fists together on Itachi's shin, snapping the ankle joint under the force, even as the Uchiha leapt out of his range "Not happening!"

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Sasuke leapt skywards, cursing as he watched the steam rise from the spot he'd last seen Kisame. He'd learned, rather abruptly, that direct assaults just weren't going to cut it. The Shark man didn;t even try to block them, he just stood there, that annoying-as-hell grin on his face, as the Uchiha had wailed on him, not even leaving a dent. Katon Jutsu were out as well, the man was some sort of Suiton master, spewing out a wall of water that protected him from being char-grilled.

'That leaves me with two choices...kuchiyose or Chidori.' he noted, wincing as he lunged aside to avoid the man's oversized weapon 'What is it with Mist nin and big swords?' he wondered idly, before snapping out of his daze to avoid a swipe that tore up the earth in it's path.

"You're pretty good at dodging like Itachi-san." Kisame noted, though his tone made it clear he was mocking the Uchiha "Course, Itachi-san's in an entirely different league...he'd have at least drawn blood by now."

Sasuke growled and very nearly fell for the trick, but reigned in his pride before it overpowered him. The mere mention of his brother's name still pissed him right the fuck off, but thanks to Naruto, not to mention several sessions in focussing on his inner self, he had learned to channel the hatred into a cool anger, rather than the typical hot-headedness he'd displayed previously.

'Calm down...he WANTs me to charge right in...Itachi probably filled him in on my...temper tantrums as a child.' he deduced, eyeing the grinning shinobi warily from his hiding place behind a chimney stack 'Chidori could easily tear through any suiton barrier he summons up...but it'd still slow me down neough for him to slice me open with that sword of his.' Gritting his teeth he brought his thumb up to his teeth 'Kuchiyose it is...'

"This is getting annoying." Kisame called out, though in a rather unnerving, sing-song manner, as if he was calling to a child "C'mon, I'll make it quick! You probably won't feel a thing either!"

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

'Just like Itachi-san said.' the shark man noted, smirking as smoke filled his field of vision 'A little prodding and he goes off like a firework festival...though it's impressive he knows Kuchiyose at this stage in his-!'

The shark man's thoughts trailed off as a low yowl reached his ears, turning his head like a rickety skeleton to find several, tiger sized felines prowling around him. The only reason they couldn;t be mistaken for true big cats was their colour scheme, which seemed to range from tabby to off-colour and royal blue. All of them bore the Uchiha fan on their backs, and all of them were licking their chops as they sized up the biggest piece of fish they'd ever seen.

Little known to the rest of the world, one of the greatest, or perhaps infamous, training methods for Mist Shinobi is to throw their young into a pit filled to the brim with starving animals, armed with a single kunai, cover the lid and leave them in there until there was one survivor, preferably the candidate. After trial and error, the number of useful cratures was reduced from natural predators to animals that could be otherwise tamed, such as dogs, Foxes, bats and giant lizards and so on.

This bizarre training method instilled a natural, bestial rage and bloodlust in the survivor, and was apparently a hand-me-down from the now extinct Kaguya clan, who prided themselves on being masters of war, if not masters of common sense.

The downside, as you might have guessed, is a crippling fear of the particulat animal they were trapped with. For Raiga, it had been ravens, for the brat Hozuki brothers it was giant squid, for Zabuza it had been crocodiles.

Three guesses what had been locked in the pit with Kisame.

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Itachi looked up as a hysteric scream shattered the air, one he recognised all too well and wasn't looking forward to rectifying.

'Damn Kirigakure and their bizzare rituals...' he cursed, glaring spitfire at the youth below him as he charged up the rooftops 'Oh well...at least he stopped reacting to every feline he sees...Sasuke must have led him into a petshop or something.'

"MINE!" Naruto yelled, descending from above amidst six other clones, each in a different martial pose as they prepared to simultaneously drop kick the akatsuki member "HACHIBI!"

'He needs to work on naming his jutsu.' Itachi noted, blocking all the strikes with a clone, though the force of the blows still sent him earthward, raising an eyebrow as the real Naruto shifted into existence behind him.

"You're going down." the Jinchuuriki promised, before flipping round in the final stage of his jutsu "KYUUBI RENDA-!"

He trailed off, voice cracking as Itachi's hand lashed out, grabbing him by the nuts and clenching hard. The Uchiha systematically gripped the blonde by his collar, eyes flashing crimson as he spun them around like a propellor, slamming the blonde into the ground, shattering it in the process.

"Ukigumo Sakurasanka." Itachi stated flatly, eyeing the frothing, unconcious teen as he hobbled to his feet, favoring his right foot "I'll admit, you are highly skilled for your age..." he eyed the comatose teen calmly "But you lack experience."

A second scream tore through the air, earning a sigh from the older Uchiha as he shook his head "It seems this mission is a failure...I shall leave you be for the moment." he eyed the comatose teen carefully, before dragging him up to look upon his face, eye to eye "But make no mistake...I WILL be back. And just to make sure you don't forget..."

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Sasuke had tio admit, he'd thought he'd seen everything, Gender-bending shinobi, demons sealed into children, his entire clan massacred by his own older brother. Hell, half the weird shit in his village didn't even faze him anymore.

He ducked out of the path of Samehada as it carved up everything in it's path. He had to admit, watching the shark man flail around like a terrified headless chicken had been funny at first, especially with the cats pawing at him like a trapped mouse. Then Sharky had suddenly started frothing at the mouth, his eyes shrinking to pinpriks as he started slashing anything that moved, breathed, or even stood still for too long...basically everything in his path.

'Note to self...get a different set of summoning contracts.' he muttered, crawling out of sight as the last of his summons tried to hold the maniac off, only to be dispelled with a single, chakra draining shredding, Kisame's hysterical laughter echoing around the street. He grimaced as the shark man's head turned, joints popping as it did so, to spy him crawling away, throwing his hands up in a pathetic excuse for defense as the moster reared up in front of him, weapon raised to kill. It never came. Instead, he found himself blinking as a second black cloak appeared in front of him, a voice layered with genjutsu commands sounding out.

"Enough Kisame." it ordered, the absolute authority in those few words causing the hacjles to rise up on Sasuke's neck "Snap out if it, you're making a fool of yourself."

The shark man paused, eyes dilating bizzarely for a few seconds, before blinking back to normal, looking around in confusion, only to sigh in relief as he espied his comrade "Sorry 'bout that." he offered, looking uncomfortable with himself "I thought I'd been getting the hang of it."

"Even with Sharingan hypnosis sessions the level of trauma you've suffered cannot be properly erased." the voice reminded him, Sasuke subtly reaching for his kunai as it spoke "As it is, the fact you can withstand the presence of felines until they appear in packs is impressive enough."

"I suppose your right..." Kisame agreed, though not without a few choice mutterings about 'blasted felines' and the like, before eyeing his partner carefully "You look like hell...where's the target?"

"I let him go." was the reply, "He impressed me enough to believe that we've been taking things to lightly for a while...I suggest we get a move on...I'm feeling a little drained..."

"You didn't...use THOSE eyes did you?" Kisame asked,, before sighing as he looked over the man in exasperation "Dammit Itachi-san! I've told you time and time again-!"

He trailed off as Sasuke lunged at his partner, eyes blazing with fury as he put all of his remaining chakra into a suicide rush Chidori, aimed at the back of his brother's neck. Kisame needn't have worried however, for even weakened, Itachi was still Itachi. He turned swiftly, grabbing the teen's wrist and snappign it like a twig, before pulling off a perfect jujitsu throw, sending the distraught avenger headfirst into a store window.

"Orokana..." Itachi muttered, staring after his sibling for the briefest of seconds "If you want to kill someone, do it quietly."

He then staggered, hissing as the pain in his snapped ankle made itself known, Kisame grabbing him under the shopulder, before teleporting away. "Yare-yare..." the kirigakure no kiishin muttered good naturedly "You Uchiha's are so high maintennance."

Itachi shot him a glare, before giving up halfway, allowing his partner to cart them off to one of the many hiding places scattered around the land.

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When Naruto woke up, it was to find himself staring into the concerned features of orochimaru. This was hardly a comfort, as the man was recovering from a hangover, hair trailing over his features in a manner eeriely reminiscent of Sadako, only with wrinkles added to the mix.

"Nice to see you too." the serpent sniffed, eyeing the teen from below as he continued to scramble backwards up the wall "And would you mind keeping it down? I just got Jiraiya to drink the nerv calming tea and I don't need him having another fit again."

Naruto eyed his surroundings from his spot in the upper corner of the room, realising they were in a larger, expensively furnished penthouse suit, a big upgrade from their last room. When he raised an eyebrow at Orochimaru, the pale sennin merely snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "Let's just say I know someone in the business." he replied cryptically, taking a sip of tea and sighing as it calmed his nerves "Damn Itachi...what's HE doing back here?"

"You know him Ero-hebi?" Naruto asked, earning a pointed glare from the sennin that had the usual lack of effect "'cause I ran into him after Sasuke and I got seperated...he wanted me to go with him..." he eyed the sennin suspiciously "He's not...you know is he?"

"After you? well of course, you DO posses the Kyuubi after all." orochimaru reminded the teen "I may not have been privlidged enough to garner the true intentions of Akatsuki, but the Leader, Pein, couldn;t emphasise enough the collection of ALL the Bijuu."

"All the...you mean they're going after Gaara too?!" Naruto snapped, eyes wide with concerned fury at the thought of something ahppening to the redhead "I mean c'mon! The guy's only just getting his life pulled together!"

"I understand that Naruto-kun," Orochimaru assured the teen "But Pein holds himself in very high regard, and with good reason, for he conquered an entire shinobi nation by himself."

Naruto shut up at that, eyes wide as he tried to imagine the kind of power such a feat would entail. While he probably could accomplish the same if he summoned Kyuubi, or unlocked the full potential of the Kyugan, he still doubted he;d be able to conquer an entire nation, without anyone finding out about it.

"However..." Orochimaru coughed, catching the youth's attention again "You have bigger concerns than that right now, for last I heard their plans weren't set to come about until three years or so."

"So we got some breathing space...not bad." Naruto muttered, not following what the sennin was implying "How's that a bigger problem, I'd say it's a big plus."

"The PROBLEM, as you so delicately put it," Orochimaru cut in "Is that you had to go and IMPRESS Itachi, which is a nigh impossible feat to accomplish let me assure you. And believe you me, once you've caught Itachi's eye, he NEVER lets you forget it."

"So he's got high expectations of me," Naruto muttered, shrigging his shoulders indifferently "So what? So does Saru-jiji and Ero-sennin, not exactly gonna blow my day."

"Naruto-kun..." orochimaru cut in, his face deadly serious as he leaned in to look the teen in the eyes "Perhaps I'm not making myself absolutely clear here...catching the eye of Uchiha Itachi is NOT a good thing. He considers anything interesting his PERSONAL object of amusement, and will drive it into the ground simply to see how long it will take to break it."

Naruto swallowed, feeling a distinct feeling in his stomach that he thoguht was fear, only to be half right, as it turned out he needed to go. Really bad. Excusing himself, he leapt for the bathroom, shoving past an irrate Jiraiya, locking the door behind him as he approached the porcelean throne.

He sighed, letting nature run it's course as he looked around the bathroom, taking in the multitude of reflective surfaces in confusion, only to blink as something caught his undivided attention.

A burn scar on his ass cheek, one that HADN't been there before, and sure as hell wasn't natural, otherwise it would've healed over by now thanks to Kyuubi's regenerative capabilities. Eyes wide, he tried to make sense of the m in the mirrored walls, only to give up and run his fingers over them, eyes widening in terror as the full meaning of Orochimaru's words sunk in.

Sasuke awoke to the sound of high-putched screaming, looking up from his pot on the bed in time to see a pantless Naruto run past, face pale and pupils dilated, his own eyes blinking in disbeleif as he caught sight of the new 'Property of Uchiha Itachi' tattoo the blonde had on his ass.

'What a weird dream...' the avenger muttered, before promplty deciding to take the blue pill, and diving back down the rabbithole to dreams filled with vengance achieved.

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Sorry this took so long coming out. Getting the mojo together after so long took longer than I thought.

Still, no apologies shall be offered, instead, I ask that you be gentle with your reviews, and thank you for waiting as long as you have.

Also, for those wondering:

Seishin-sekken: literally Mind-Soap no jutsu, a little something they 'borrowed' from the Yamanaka clan, killing the creator and burning the scroll in the process.

Orokana: Fans of Akuma/Gouki should recall his taunt, for those who don't, it literally means 'fool/moron', spoken in a bad-ass way.

Ukigumo Sakurasanka: Anyone that's read the Negima manga should recognise Setsuna's grappling technique, for a literal translation-Floating Cloud, Sakura petal dance.

TTFN! and Review soon!

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	20. Chapter 20

For all those that kept writing in requesting an update, thank you.

I understand that some of you are probably sick to the back teeth of procrastinations, so I won't bother.

Gaiden was my first major work, and by thunder I intend to finish it.

Just don't expect a time skip...or if there is, it'll happen earlier, since there's no 'valley of the end' bull crap.

Also, my apologies fo ther earlier post, it was the un-edited version that was supposed to have been deleted earlier, but somehow managed to weasle it's way off the cutting room floor. Also, my Keyboard, as you can tell from the old version, has been acting really screwy.

Please enjoy the real, hopefully typo-free, version of the latest chapter.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-one

"I'll kill the bastard." Naruto hissed, stalking down the country road, his teeth clenched so tight they were cracking, wisps of crimson chakra wafting off him in his ire "I won't leave a scrap of meat!"

"Get in line." Sasuke grumbled, walking alongside the irate jinchuriki's right, muttering darkly to himself as he recalled just how easily his hated older brother had taken him down. 'Like he was swatting a fly...' he noted bitterly 'Even with a broken leg he took me down like I was still an academy student.'

"Oh come now that isn't very healthy." Orochimaru scoffed as he kept pace with Sasuke on the Uchiha's right, though internally the snake sennin was seething at being subjugated to his weakness in such a public manner "Of course he's stronger than you, he's been running around with S-class missing nin since he left Konoha behind. Put him out of your heads and focus on your training."

'And leave the vengeance to ME!' he hissed to himself, golden eyes narrowing as he put all of his years of experience into devising an appropriate punishment for the prodigal Uchiha 'Little brat doesn't know who he's messing with!'

"Dirty, dirty never gonna be clean again..." Jiraiya muttered, marching along at Naruto's Left, putting as much distance between himself and Orochimaru as possible for the moment. Oh sure he knew it wasn't Orochimaru's fault, and would eventually forget the matter after a weeklong bender at the next red light district he could find, but until then he was ITCHING to go sennin on a certain prodigal Uchiha, and wouldn't feel 100% cleansed until justice had been served.

The group had been like this since leaving the town behind, Orochimaru, the only one emotionally stable enough to venture in public after the events of the day before, having caught a tip that Tsunade had drifted towards Tanzaku-Gai, which was at best a days walk away.

"In all honesty, we should have headed to Tanzaku-gai n the first place." the sennin muttered idly, holding his chin as he walked, deep in contemplation "Tanzaku is one of the biggest gambling havens in the elemental nations...even if she weren't there she'd have had to have passed through at some point or other."

"Tsunade isn't exactly too popular in Tsuchi no Kuni or Rai no kuni either." Jiraiya agreed, though he pointedly avoided looking at his teammate as he spoke "Stands to reason she'd tend to stick to relatively neutral areas where she wouldn't be recognized for her contributions to the war."

"Contributions?" Sasuke repeated, looking between the sanin as they conversed before turning to Naruto "What contributions? From what they've told us so far she's just some wandering gambler."

Naruto shrugged, pulling out one of his now infamous 'famous shinobi and their achievements' volumes and flipping through the contents "Lessee...Densetsu no Sannin...here we are!" he ran his eyes over the page "Senju Tsunade, otherwise known as the Slug Sennin, Healing Princess, Legendary Sucker and the...Chichigami?"

"Goddess of boobs?" Sasuke repeated disbelievingly, quirking an eyebrow at the blonde, who merely shrugged, rolling his eyes in disbelief before turning his attention back to the book.

"Grand-daughter of Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, and Grand-niece of Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage." He whistled, "Hell of a background...she's like royalty or something."

"The closest thing Konoha has to it actually." Orochimaru agreed, waking alongside th teens with a wistful smile, "And she made a point of reminding us of it every time."

"Right up until she failed to make chunin rank the first time." Jiraiya sighed, a smile on his face as if recalling one of the fondest memories of his life "Wouldn't speak to us for weeks."

"Didn't you fail on your first try too?" Orochimaru asked coyly, chuckling as the man sputtered indignantly at the reminder "Not that I had any better luck."

"No way..." Sasuke gaped, looking over the two sennin in surprised disbelief "But...you were the sannin! The prodigal three! Everyone in Konoha considers you an example on proper shinobi!"

"Believe it or not we only became famous after we all achieved Jounin rank." Orochimaru offered consolingly, a little flattered with the Uchiha's confusion "And we only started calling ourselves the 'Sannin' during the en of the 2nd shinobi world war." he added, frowning in distaste "It was against the former leader of Amagakure, Sanshouo no Hanzo."

"Now there was a bastard." Jiraiya agreed, spitting to the side as he recalled the only opponent the Sannin had never managed to defeat, even when pooling their resources "Guy fought off an entire army by himself, then turned his attention to OUR cell." he shivered "Fiercest fight of my life, no joke."

"In the end we only lived because he realized the tide of battle was turning." Orochimaru recalled, lips pressed in a line of distaste at the memory "But before that he praised us...apparently the first time he'd done so in his entire life."

"Said he'd 'let us live'." Jiraiya grumbled, spitting to the side in distaste "But in return, we had to call ourselves the 'Densetsu no Sannin', like it was some big honor to be spared by him or something."

"Hanzo...Hanzo..." Naruto muttered, flipping through the appendix of his book for the name "Here he is...man this guy was paranoid...had his own mother strip-searched when she came to visit him."

"What did we discuss about Too Much Information?" Sasuke muttered, shuddering at the blonde's words before looking up at Orochimaru "So how come we never learned of him at the academy?"

"How good do you think it would've been for morale if children learned their childhood heroes were beaten back by the leader of a backwater nation?" Orochimaru replied, snorting at the look of comprehension on the teens' faces "I believe someone once said that 'history is made by the people who write the textbooks...'. In that case consider the council of any major shinobi village the censors that take out the 'nasty' bits."

"Frikking prudes..." Jiraiya muttered.

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"Is there a draft in here?" Danzo muttered, covering his nose as he wiped it off, glaring at the rest of the council as he spoke "Anyways, back to business."

"The repairs are progressing steadily." Homura reported, shifting through a stack of papers, "However, we still need to refill the ranks that were decimated by the enemy."

"How could they have killed so many of us..." Koharu muttered bitterly "We outnumbered Suna's forces at least ten to one, and don't get me started on how inadequate Otogakure's shinobi were."

"Not a single jounin rank in the bunch." a civilian councilor muttered, snorting in disdain "But they still managed to take out half our main forces, not to mention ripping through the village proper."

"Clearly we've let the level of quality drop too far in these times of peace." Danzo stated, not for the first time, but THIS time he had the recent assault backing him up "I've warned Sarutobi that he's let the instructors become too soft on the new batches of recruits...clearly he hasn't heeded me."

"Mainly because I know you'll just drum roll as many poor children as possible into your 'Ne' division." Sarutobi spoke out, startling the hell out of the group as he sidled into the room "Starting the meeting without me? How very rude of you."

"Sarutobi." Danzo muttered, pursing his lips in annoyance as he eyed his one-time rival and superior in sheathed dislike "We were just speaking about you."

"I have no doubt you were." Sarutobi shot back, the look in his eyes letting Danzo know he was having none of it "you do enjoy having these little private conversations behind my back after all." he smirked as the obviously rattled council looked amongst themselves "Now...any new business?"

"One major one, Sarutobi." Danzo stated, standing up stiffly as he eyed the man, leaning heavily on his cane "Namely the succession of the Hokage title."

"Sarutobi." Koharu began, her tone neutral, but placating, "You've served as Hokage, and quite well I may add, for many years now...longer than anyone had right to demand of you."

'Your damn right I have...' Sarutobi muttered, but kept his thoughts to himself as he listened to the woman who'd once been his teammate carry on, filtering out the drabble to hear the main points: 'You're old, give the job to someone else'.

"And surely you can see the sense in electing someone else to carry the responsibility from now on?" Koharu finished, pointedly looking anywhere at Danzo, lest they give the game away.

"I can indeed." Sarutobi agreed, startling his remaining supporters on the council, and even Danzo himself "For one thing I wouldn't have to deal with the multitude of false documents that are wormed into my paperwork to wrest my authority away from me."

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Several civilian members of the council looked away from the old man, and several more pointedly avoiding the look Danzo was shooting them as well. The old war hawk may not have liked Sarutobi, if anything he held him PERSONALLY responsible for Konoha's state of affairs, but one thing he absolutely LOATHED was Sarutobi including civilians on the council. This was a SHINOBI village, the main modus operandi was to go out, do missions, kill anyone that looked at you sideways or just plain and simple pissed you off, then come home to recover before the next slaughtering session, all the while hording secrets and techniques like pack-rats.

But Sarutobi, in a bid to get the civilians to see that the Jinchuuriki (for Danzo refused to see Naruto as anything but an unforged weapon), had granted several notable figures a seat on the council so that they might have a role in the affairs of their home. Once again, the old man's generosity had proved his downfall. The civilians had, rather than openly hunting the boy down, started using the Konoha legal system to their advantage, writing in loopholes that allowed them to ostracize the brat to their hearts content.

Danzo really couldn't have given a flying fuck about that, if anything he thought the treatment would slowly drive the jinchuuriki to it's limits, meaning HE could legally step in to 'prevent a repeat of the Kyuubi incident' from taking place, forging the nine-tails into his ultimate trump card. No, what pissed the director of 'Ne' off so much was the civilians attempts to wrest the Hokage's authority away from Sarutobi through subterfuge and pathetic deceit.

If ANYONE was going to claim the power of the Hokage name, it would be Danzo, and no one else. And the second he was in the office, the old War hawk would see to it that civilians would not only KNOW their place in society, somewhere above vermin but well beneath Shinobi, but he would purge the influences of their 'councilmen' from his administration.

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"As I was saying." Hiruzen continued, noting the dark chuckles coming from Danzo with suspicion, "I am quite in agreement with you all regarding the choosing of a Godaime, so much so, in fact, that I have sent Jiraiya and Orochimaru to fetch her for us."

"Fetch?" Koharu repeated, looking confused as several mutters went up amongst the councilmen, Danzo's eyes narrowing in suspicion as he tightened his grip on his cane "You mean this person is an outsider? But Sarutobi, who better to lead us than someone that has always put the concerns of Konoha above all else?"

"You are, again, correct Koharu." Hiruzen agreed, smirking at her knowingly "Which is why I have chosen my disciple, Senju Tsunade, as my successor as Godaime Hokage."

The silence that followed could be felt by the council, the civilian members struck dumb from surprise and terror at what the venerable elder had just said. They had all, at some stage, encountered Konoha's 'Princess' in her youth, and knew firs hand that while Sarutobi had tolerated their meddling in his affairs, Tsunade was not above putting her foot down on interlopers.

It didn't hurt that she had no patience for silvered words and, outside of gambling, had the ability to read people like a book.

No, the civilian members of the council were NOT pleased at all with this turn of events. But their distress paled in comparison to the dark anger that was Danzo's ire.

'Damn you Sarutobi...' the war hawk muttered, locking gazes with his rival, catching the knowing look in his eye and cursing 'You had this planned from the start...Orochimaru and Jiraiya I could handle...but that wench!' he grumbled to himself, recalling the few tims he had met with Tsunade and tried to coax her over to his way of thinking...let's just say Tsunade had left an impression on him...with her knee.

Hey, why do you think he needed the cane?

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"...and that's how we got the Sandaime Kazekage to sign the peace treaty." Jiraiya concluded, a sigh escaping as he smiled at the memory of those bygone days "I never looked at a banana daiquiri the same way again after that."

Orochimaru scoffed, noting that their companions looked torn between arousal and horror, their eyes wide with fascinated horror, like they'd just watched a train crash into an orphanage. "She isn't that bad..." he assured them "when she's sober anyways, just try to avoid her when she's had a few and you'll be fine."

"Sounds Kinda hard." Sasuke noted, a deadpan expression slipping onto his features "Seeing as, from what you say, she's either drinking or looking for a drink to forget her gambling debts."

"I'm with Sasuke on this one." Naruto muttered in annoyance "If she's like that every waking moment should we only approach her when she's sleeping?"

"NO!" the two Sennin yelled, their eyes wide in horror as they clamped their hands over the startled blonde's mouth, his eyes bugging out at the terror in their eyes.

"NEVER try to wake her up!" Orochimaru insisted, veins visible in his eyes from the terror as he gripped the sides of his head "You have no idea what terror is until you've interrupted Tsunade's beauty rest!"

"So much pain..." Jiraiya mumbled, apparently lost in some horrible memory, gripping his mane of white hair between his fingers as he knelt on the side of the road, rocking back and forth "Make the hurting stop...oh dear sweet god not the CORN!"

Sasuke ad Naruto watched as Orochimaru and Jiraiya huddled together, trembling like newborn foals and pleading for mercy, before looking at each other and nodding, walking up to their respective senseis and giving them a comforting pat on the back.

They knew what it was like to be hounded by an angry female.

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Tsunade sneezed, cursing this apparent cold that had been plaguing her for well over a week now, only to look up in alarm as the slot reels landed on triple sevens, coins spraying out of the machine, littering at her feet as Shizune began scooping up as much as she could.

"HIEEE!!!" the medic cheered, racing back and forth between th counter as she went "If you keep this streak up we're likely to pay off half your debts within the week Shishou!"

"Baka! Don't just scoop it up!" Tsunade yelled, cursing as she tried to make her way through he crowd, who'd swooped in to congratulate her and sneak off with some of the earnings. 'This is seriously bad! If I don't get out of here soon-!'

Her elbow caught some doddering old fart with a walker in the spine as he hobbled past, earning a yelp as he straightened up, only to blink and rub his back in wonder "I...I can walk!" he cheered, tears running down his aged face as he began to kick his heels for joy "I can move again! I feel like I'm thirty!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, only to blink as she was suddenly beset upon by a horde of old fogies that were offering her their life's savings in exchange for he 'miracle treatment'.

Needless to say, by the time Tsunade finally managed to make it out of the town, she had was not only several thousand ryo richer, she also had a much better reputation than when she went in. Which basically meant she was pissed as hell.

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"Danzo-sama..." one of the faceless, nameless grunts of Ne greeted, kneeling before his lord and master as he hobbled into the dark catacombs that ran under the village "your 'guest' is here."

"One thing after another..." Danzo muttered, making his way to the audience chambers, schemes hatching in his mind as he tried to predict Sarutobi's next move, only to glare at the cloaked figure waiting for him in the chamber "What are you still doing here? You failed."

"Failed? Hardly." Kabuto chuckled, removing his cowl "All I did was make it clear to Orochimaru that no-one bought his tall tales, that the threats that surround Konoha are still very much inclined to slit his throat along with the village's."

"A risky gamble..." Danzo muttered, his hands gripping his cane tightly as he evaluated the bespectacled man "But can you be certain that there are none that would support him?"

"Amongst the troops? None." Kabuto assured him "Orochimaru didn't make many friends during the war, most of the ones that 'joined' Otogakure were out for the bounty on his head." he chuckled "Not that it did them any good."

"The serpent is good I'll give him hat much." Danzo muttered "Had I managed to get to him all those years ago he'd be sitting n the Hokage office by now, under MY control."

"But you didn't." Kabuto countered with a smug smirk "You missed your chance and his teammates jumped in to comfort him right when a few honeyed words could have corrupted his faith and purpose."

"You watch your tongue." Danzo growled, tapping his cane, several ANBU operatives filtering into view, only to phase out again, a clear warning that the old man wasn't willing to put up with cheek here in his own domain "What of his so called 'elite'?"

"A bunch of teenagers drunk of the power of the Tenfuuin." Kabuto scoffed "Without my ministrations their own seals would have devoured them by now, so there's no fear of them turning turncoat." he scowled "There are one or two exceptions however..."

"Names?" Danzo queried, only to scowl as Kabuto shook his head, a knowing smirk on the youth's face "Fine, just make sure they aren't a threat to us."

"To YOU maybe." Kabuto chuckled, turning on his heel and pulling up his cowl "After all, YOU'RE the one that's plotting to undermine the Sandaime's authority, "I'm merely providing the manpower."

Danzo glowered at the youth as he walked off, shadowed by several ANBU to make certain he didn't try anything funny, before turning and hobbling back this quarters. He had a long day ahead of him tomorrow, and his wounds needed seeing to again.

'I will not allow the rot that infests Konoha to remain any longer.' he growled, allowing his medics to see to his scars 'I put too much effort into driving away the last of the Shodai's bloodline, I will NOT tolerate that wench wearing the Hokage robes.'

And so, deep within the bowls of his underground nest, Danzo resumed his plotting, determined to prevent the Senju line's re-ascension to te seat of power. He'd managed to pull it off twice now, and didn't intend to lose his perfect record.

'It's just too bad she never had any other siblings...' he muttered, recalling the funeral for the Shodai's grandson, how Tsunade had wept her eyes out, a shadow of the proud, headstrong heiress she'd once been '...it could have driven her off for good.'

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Danzo's plans are in motion, an Kabuto makes a re-appearance.

Just how tightly wound are these two conspirators? Are there any in Otogakure that would support Orochimaru?

And Will Tsunade manage to escape the harbingers of good luck?

Find out, hopefully, next time, on Naruto Gaiden!

* * *


End file.
